Young Ngambri, Ngunnawal and Wiradjuri man, Byamee Williams is infusing the Canberra region and beyond with his First Nations artworks and native flavours delivered through his catering company.
Coming from a culture that has been around for thousands of years, Mr Williams says he is fortunate to have been taught by those who came before him about the lands, customs and stories of his people. The delivery of these teachings is often through art and storytelling; he says continuing art keeps culture alive.
“Art is everywhere in our culture; through ceremony, we paint ourselves, depict the animals that were dancing and telling stories about, the old rock paintings or rock caves. Art has been an integral part of our culture for passing on knowledge and holding on to knowledge and expressing ourselves,” he says.
Believing everyone should understand the long and complex history of our county, Mr Williams says that art helps spread the message that people were here pre-colonisation. Teaching children about different styles of art is an interactive way to learn about the rich history of Australia.
“Art is a way that embraces our culture and is a good way for everyone to maybe learn something through the stories in the art or totems and things like that. To care for land, land care style, what totems sort of mean,” he says.
During this year’s winter school holidays, Mr Williams teamed up with Junior Landcare to create colouring-in templates for school-aged children to educate them about our country.
“I chose to do the kangaroo and emu or Bandharr and Dhinawan in Wiradjuri language … The Dhinawan and Bandharr are significant totems. The Dhinawan in the Sky refers to when you can see the emu or the egg it’s the season for hunting emu or picking eggs, and I thought that would be a good one to share because emus are an important food source and medicinal source,” he explains.
Like his father and grandfather, Mr Williams is a skilled painter whose elders taught him their styles. He can often be found at his Pop’s house in Queanbeyan as the pair work on projects alongside each other.
“A lot of my artworks I tend to do totems of country; animals, flora and fauna are depicted in my artwork from all over the country.”
Fun fact: Byamee’s grandfather, Jim Williams, and sculptor Matthew Harding created the Bogong Moths sculptures at the Acton Peninsula.
While art has deep meaning for Mr Williams and he appreciates that he can make some income from the venture, at the end of the day he wants to be a successful businessman.
“I do a lot of wood carving, I try to make all my own display dishes regarding catering,” he says.
His catering company is called Native Fusion. Growing up, Mr Williams was always in the kitchen watching, learning and then cooking. Toying with the idea of opening a café or restaurant, he decided to dive straight into a catering business, however, they deliver more than just delicious food to events they provide for.
“I’m going to try and bring a cultural experience with the flavours of food to Canberra,” he says. “We don’t want to come drop food off and be gone. We want to bring a nice platter and set up a nice thing and give some informative information and consult about what people are actually eating because a lot of these ingredients are new to most people.”
Heading bush to collect some supplies, Mr Williams says a lot of the ingredients are hard to come by as they haven’t been commercialised yet and there is a lack of farms or set-ups. He travels in search of the perfect flavours, which he often finds by linking up with other mobs.
“It’s a very big challenge to get all our ingredients because we can’t just go down to Woolworths and get everything, I have to shop all over New South Wales a little bit. We are looking at setting up our own nursery to be able to mitigate that a bit.”
Harking back to the flavours his ancestors would have been accustomed to, Mr Williams says they wouldn’t have known lettuce, broccoli, and a wide range of fruits. While bush tucker is becoming more mainstream, he wanted to showcase the beautiful flavours of his country that no one really knows about.
“I’ve been hearing a lot of chatter about native ingredients all over the country and they’re starting to make their way into a lot of high-end restaurants,” he says.
Mr Williams wanted to see a First Nations person at the forefront of the movement rather than a celebrity chef or chain. He says that is about more than flavours, as there is a deep connection and understanding of the land attached to each ingredient.
Not only do the native flavours add a delicious twist to the meals, but as the ingredients are native and suited to our climate, the product would also prove to be more sustainable.
“I’d really like to see this country embrace native grasses over wheat because then we won’t have to do a monocrop of planting every year. They use a lot less water than European plants and GMOs. Native plants, a lot of them you plant them once and they will survive with the rainwater that comes naturally.”
Launching his catering business during Reconciliation Week this year, Mr Williams aims to cater events for the private corporate and government sectors but is open to almost anything.
“We’re happy to work with children and put a big fun day on for them as well as inform them about the food and feed them at the same time,” he says.
Through his business, art, and wholeheartedly embracing his culture, Mr Williams aims to be a role model for First Nations youth, leading by example.
“Culture is part of my everyday life, if I didn’t have my culture, I’d be off God knows where doing God knows what. It keeps my head straight, keeps me walking a straight path, keeps me strong and powerful. I’m trying to be a leader for the next generations and focus on doing good and culture helps me do that,” he says.
Find out more about Byamee Williams and Native Fusion at native-fusion.com.au
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