Bush foods expert Leila Nimbadja was today awarded the delicious magazine/Harvey Norman National Produce Awards ‘Outstanding Native Producer’, selected by judge Kylie Kwong.

Leila is a Senior Traditional owner and Gurr-goni woman who lives on her homeland in the Maningrida region.

Leila is the mainstay of Maningrida Wild Food’s bush foods team, and her intricate knowledge of native produce has been pivotal to its commercial success.

Maningrida Wild Foods is a Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation enterprise that supplies seasonal bush food, harvested sustainably and quality controlled by Leila, to some of Australia’s most renowned restaurants and wholesalers.

Now in its 15th year, the Awards celebrate the country’s new, innovative, native and consistently outstanding Australian ingredients grown, caught, sourced or produced with dedication, passion, knowledge and regard for the environment.

“The delicious. Harvey Norman Produce Awards not only recognise the best Australian produce but, importantly, the people behind it, thanks to a passionate network of food industry experts who nominate outstanding produce and producers from all over Australia,” said delicious. editorial director Kerrie McCallum.

“Following drought, bushfires, flood, then scaling back production due to Covid-19, there’s never been a more important time to acknowledge just how hard Australian farmers, fishermen and artisans work at their craft.”

Harvey Norman executive chairman Gerry Harvey said the judging panel and the delicious. team narrowed the field to the best of the best.

“We should consider the winners a shopping list of sorts. We now know who they are and what they produce, so it is up to us to do our homework. Find out who they supply and where are they stocked. This year has found us all with more time at home; time that is being spent in the kitchen, time to plan what we are cooking and where we will source our produce from. It is simple. If we take the time to source the produce of this year’s winners, we will taste the difference in our cooking and what we share with the family.”