After 12 years as a chef in toxic workplaces, Lucy Ridge had lost her passion for cooking. The pandemic forced a reset, leading her to seek a deeper connection with food through farming. In 2021, she interned at Jonai Farms and Meatsmiths, a pastured pig farm in regional Victoria, where she rediscovered community and purpose.
Ridge's culinary career began at 15 in Canberra, fueled by a love for Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson. But years of long hours, bullying bosses, and a male-dominated environment dulled her enthusiasm. 'Hospitality can be anything but hospitable to the people working in it,' she says. 'It is an industry that takes more than it gives.'
On the farm, Ridge lived in a converted shipping container and shared meals with owners Tammi and Stuart, their teenager, a fellow intern, and farm hands. Meals were communal, often vegetable-based, and featured homegrown produce and homemade condiments. 'It felt like having a dinner party with friends every night,' she recalls.
Ridge found that the farm's emphasis on eating better meat less often, and the joy of tracing pork from paddock to plate, restored her love for cooking. 'Part of the reason I'd fallen out of love with cooking was a lack of community,' she says. At Jonai, she found a warm, expansive kitchen and a genuine sense of belonging.
