Food Innovation & Sustainability | Chef Tawnya Bahr | Passion to Profession: Chef's Edition | Episode 8

Between stacks of Swanson TV dinners at her dad’s house and her mother’s berry patch cooking, young Tawnya Bahr learned an essential truth: if she wanted to eat well, she’d have to figure it out herself.

That realisation at eight years old set her on a path spanning three decades, two countries, a life-threatening illness, and multiple businesses — each teaching her something new about food, community, and resilience.

The Accidental Foundation

At 15, Tawnya was serving sundaes at a burger joint when the cook didn’t show up. Suddenly, she was deep-frying bacon and flipping burgers in chaos.

“I was messier than hell, but I’d watched the cook during my breaks, sitting on the milk crate in the kitchen. I just figured it out.”

At Kentucky Fried Chicken a year later, she noticed men worked in the kitchen while women stayed out front. She wanted to be in the back cooking. At 17, when she became supervisor and cooks didn’t show, she finally got her chance.

Fast food, often dismissed, gave her a foundation: consistency, systems, and pressure management.

The Crossroads

Culinary school was out of reach after high school, so Tawnya enrolled in international business and took a receptionist job at a San Francisco software company. Nine years later, she was their International Sales & Marketing Manager, traveling the world.

Then she met an Australian. After a year of long-distance, one of them had to move.

“I never thought I’d leave America, but I knew if I never took that chance, I would always wonder what if.”

Nearly three decades later — married, two kids, two dogs — she calls Australia home.

The Condiment Connoisseur

In 1996, while on a motorcycle software sales call in Richmond, Tawnya pulled over with a carton of farm eggs and wrote her first business plan.

The Condiment Connoisseur would fill gaps in the Australian market with gourmet mustards and preservative-free seafood sauces.

Her first breakthrough came at Blackwattle Deli, Sydney Fish Markets. “I felt like I’d made it. But entrepreneurship is not for the faint-hearted. I made a lot of mistakes and there was a lot of pain.”

When Everything Changed

December 23, 1999. At 32, Tawnya was preparing for a New Year’s catering job, her daughter on her hip. The day before Christmas Eve, a doctor told her: invasive breast cancer.

The next morning, she still drove to the fish markets at 4 a.m. “I smashed a bowl and all these people just want their Christmas shopping done. I’m like, my world’s coming to an end.”

Chemo, hair loss, mastectomy, reconstruction — and a hard lesson: when you are the face of the business and step back, the momentum often goes with you.

She sold the company but kept the formulas, focusing on her health while consulting for small food producers.

The Luxury of Learning

Told she probably wouldn’t have another child, Tawnya had a son. Grateful, she reprioritised.

She enrolled at Le Cordon Bleu, the school her 18-year-old self couldn’t afford.

“As an older female student, I had to fight for my pots and pans. At first I was polite — ‘oh no, you go ahead.’ Then I thought, forget it, I’m getting in there.”

She later completed a Master’s in Gastronomic Tourism, where she met Lucy Allen. The two bonded over sustainability and provenance, eventually becoming business partners.

Straight to the Source

Tawnya’s next business plan was sharper: no inventory, no sales pressure, December–January downtime.

The model: take chefs on curated farm and producer experiences, not as clients but as peers.

“We’re hosting them because they want to come on a journey we’ve created, not because they’re being sold to.”

Fourteen years later, Straight to the Source continues to educate chefs while giving producers an authentic platform. Lucy joined as co-founder eighteen months in, bringing restaurant and front-of-house expertise.

The Orchard: Cooking for the Toughest Critics

As Group Executive Chef of six early learning centres, Tawnya now designs five meals a day for children aged zero to five.

“Children are fickle and I love their honesty. They’ll say, ‘Chef Tawnya, this risotto…I don’t like it.’ Then we’ll work out the flavour and maybe change it to pasta.”

Her team of restaurant-trained chefs works with fresh, seasonal produce. The centres grow vegetables and keep chickens. When they harvest artichokes, Tawnya buys more to cook with the children.

Sustainability guides her kitchens: if a supplier offers sun-damaged cauliflower, she turns it into rice. “Right now, spaghetti squash is coming through. It’s tasty, dramatic, got theatre. All the centres are getting it.”

Paying It Forward

Mentors shaped Tawnya’s journey — Karen Doyle (Le Cordon Bleu), Michael Klausen (Brasserie Bread), Simon Marnie, Christopher Thé — and she now passes that forward.

She employs and supports women in hospitality, encouraging them to hone skills first. “Be the best you can be. Gender doesn’t play a part. If somebody’s done an incredible job, they’ll move ahead faster.”

The Wisdom

Three decades in, Tawnya’s advice is clear:

Follow your passion but accept the path won’t be straight.
Be resilient. “Put yourself out there because you only get one shot.”
Surround yourself with good people. Gratitude fuels growth.
Keep evolving. Balance relevance with passion to avoid burnout.

Full Circle

From analysing TV dinners in foil trays to designing menus for preschoolers, Tawnya Bahr proves passion and profession can merge — just rarely in straight lines.

The software career funded her travels. Cancer forced her focus. Condiments taught her resilience. Le Cordon Bleu at 34 meant more than it would have at 18.

“I’m not perfect. I make mistakes. But I’m motivated for change and motivated to keep paving the way forward.”

That eight-year-old who cooked for herself? She’s still paving her own way — and helping others find theirs.

Explore more about Straight to the Source’s culinary tours and watch the full conversation on Passion to Profession: Chef’s Edition.

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