Australian Gourmet Traveller - (09)September 2020 (1)

XINYI LIM

A TEMPORARYVISIT HOMEBECAMEPERMANENTWHENCOVID-19

PREVENTED FREELANCECHEFXINYI LIM’SRETURNTONEWYORK.NOW,

GRATEFUL TO BE HERE, SHE IS USING HER TALENT FOR SOCIAL GOOD.

I

startedcookingandworkinginrestaurants

whenI movedtoNewYorkmorethanfive

yearsago.Beforethat,I wasinSydneyworking

asa lawyerina commerciallawfirm.

InFebruaryI camebacktoSydneyformy

sister’swedding,andtogetmygreencard.Soon

after,mysister’sweddingwaspostponed,mygreen

cardinterviewgotcancelledandmyplansforNew

Yorkwereputonholdindefinitely.

WhileI’vebeenbackI’vebeenworkingontwo

creativeprojects,whichhavebothcomeaboutquite

organically.I startedmailingdriedsourdough

starteraroundAustralia,intandemwitha broader

initiativeunderNewYork-basedcommunityart

project,BreadonEarth.I onlyexpectedtosendit

to 40 orsopeople,butit explodedandmystarter

hassincereachedmorethan 700 peoplearound

Australia.Inthemidstofthepandemic,therewas

a renewedinterestinbakingbreadwithsourdough.

Thiscameaboutfrompeoplegenerallyhaving

moretime.ButI alsobelievetheresurgencearose

froma needthatmanyfelt,toreacquaintthemselves

withforgottenmeansofsustainingandfeeding

ourselvesandourfamilies,outsideofbroken

commoditymarketsandfrozensupplychains.

SomeofthepersonalmessagesI’vereceivedfrom

recipientsofmysourdoughhavebeendeeply

moving,andit hasbeensoheartwarmingtofoster

a senseofcommunityina timeofphysicalisolation.

Alongwithsharingsourdough,I started

a weeklymealservicecalledFamilyMeal.The

ideagrewoutofa familytraditionofcookingand

sharinga mealeverySundayevening,andmylove

forthedailyrestaurantpracticeofpreparingand

eatinga “familymeal”.EachFamilyMealmenu

is inspiredbya differentcultureandcuisine,and

I producea limitednumberofmealseachweek.

Myfirststagesofplanningtheservicecoincided

withtheresurgenceoftheBlackLivesMatter

movementinAmerica,andhereinAustraliatoo.

It becamecleartomethatwhateverFamilyMeal

wasgoingtobe,it neededtocontributemeaningfully

insomewaytothefightagainstsystemicracism

experiencedbyIndigenousAustraliansandpeople

ofcolour.I donate$10fromeachmealsoldto

a differentcharityororganisationeachweek.It was

importanttometoincludea socialjusticeelement

tothisprojectfromthebeginning,toholdmyself

accountable to something bigger than myself and

mycreativepractice.FamilyMealhasbeenabout

experimentingandresearchingandlearningand

givingina timewhennotmuchelsefeelspossible.

Currently,I feellikea bitofa strangertothe

industryinSydney,andknowI havea lottolearn.

AlthoughI hadn’texpectedtobespendingsomuch

timeinAustraliasosoon,it hasbeenupliftingto

seethestrongcommunitythatexistsinthefood

andhospitalityworldhere.AcrossNewYorkand

Sydney,I’vebeenstruckbythesupportthateveryone

intheindustryhasforeachother,cheeringeach

otheronas theypivotortrytomakethemostout

ofthisextremelyvulnerabletime.It’sthisgenerosity

andcamaraderiethatI fellforwhenI changedcareers.

I’dliketospendtimeworkinginrestaurants

inAustralia,aswellasfindopportunitiestocook

andcollaboratewithfriends.Thingsarechanging

everydaysowhoknowswhat’stocome.It’staken

sometimeformetoprocesstheimpactandreality

ofthispandemic,butI’mgratefultobeinSydney

rightnow,andhopefulandopentoall the

possibilities here.@megafaunafood

56 GOURMET TRAVELLER