Infuse Infuse 10 December 2019 | Page 23

I discussed the idea of continuing Straight
To The Source as a partnership. Since then,
we have moved forward as a collaborative
team pooling together our experience,
education and passion for the industry.
Tell us about your story. How did you
come to work together at Straight to the
Source?
Tawnya: I founded Straight To The Source in
2012 as a service to the hospitality industry,
to provide opportunities
for like-minded chefs to
get out of their kitchen
and experience first-
hand how ingredients are
grown. In 2014, Lucy and
I were both studying the
Masters of Gastronomic
Tourism online through Le
Cordon Bleu and Southern
Cross University. We
became study buddies
and eventually, decided to
meet in-person for lunch.
We realised our values
and business ethos were
aligned. Straight To The
Source by this point was
having a positive influence
and establishing itself as
a meaningful service to
the industry. I also knew
that in order to grow the
business further I needed
to find the right business
partner to work with. The
more time Lucy and I
spent together it became
clear we would make a
good team so, now a few
months down the track, we went to lunch
again (this time we ordered really nice wine
and I made sure she had plenty!) and
© Dietitian Connection
What did you do before Straight
To The Source?
T: I moved to Australia from
San Francisco where I worked
for a software company, as an
international sales and marketing
manager, for almost 10 years.
I was always drawn to food
provenance and cooking and
fortunately I travelled extensively
while in IT and used that
opportunity to explore food
cultures to self-educate myself.
When I moved to Australia, I
decided to put my business skills
to work to enter the food industry
by researching the condiment
sector in Australia.
This was 1995 and I found a gap
with mustards, pickled garlics
and American-style tomato
based seafood sauce. I set up
The Condiment Connoisseur
and quickly became an artisan
producer hand making American
style seafood sauce, importing
garlic and mustard products
and setting up a warehouse and
gourmet distribution company selling
eventually nationwide to top deli’s and
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Infuse | December 2019