Join food historian Dr Lauren Samuelsson, comedian Jennifer Wong, and nutrition expert Professor Clare Collins for an entertaining, nostalgic, and insightful exploration of Australia’s culinary heritage, moderated by National Explainer editor Felicity Lewis.
Since 1933, The Australian Women’s Weekly has been instrumental in shaping Australia’s food culture through its popular recipes and cooking advice. This delicious discussion will reveal how these treasured cookbooks and magazine pages did more than just feed families—they defined our national palate, preserved cultural traditions, and reflected changing social dynamics. From Depression-era resourcefulness to the birthday cakes that marked countless celebrations, discover how modern Australia’s relationship with food tells a richer story about who we are and how we’ve evolved as a nation.
Dr Lauren Samuelsson holds a PhD in history from the University of Wollongong, Australia, where she is an Associate Lecturer. Lauren’s research interests include cultural history, the history of food and drink, the history of popular culture and gender history. Her first book, A Matter of Taste: The Australian Women’s Weekly and its Influence on Australian Food Culture was published with Monash University Publishing in 2024. Alongside her award-winning academic work, she has also published in The Conversation and is a regular guest on Australian radio, where she shares her love of food history with people nationwide.
Jennifer Wong is a writer and comedian. She is the co-author of Chopsticks or Fork? Recipes and Stories from Australia's Regional Chinese Restaurants, and a contributor to Admissions: Voices within Mental Health. Her humorous writing about food, culture, and mental health has appeared in The Guardian, SBS Food, ABC Everyday, Monocle, and The Big Issue. Jennifer is the presenter of Chopsticks or Fork? (ABC iView), and creator and host of FEAST: live community storytelling events for food and story enthusiasts. As a comedian, she has had sold- out shows around Australia, most recently Jennifer Wong Has No Peripheral Vision (2023) and The Sweet and Sour Hour of Power (2024).
Felicity Lewis has been in journalism since the mid-1990s, including a couple of years in London, working in various roles as a reporter and producer and winning several team awards, including a Walkley, as multimedia editor at The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. She has been the national explainer editor since “explainers” were launched in those newspapers at the end of 2018.
