When you think about a "full plate", what comes to mind? For most of us, it's a calendar bursting at the seams — juggling school runs, work deadlines, family commitments, and the never-ending question of what to cook for dinner.

But for Sharon Winsor, a proud Ngemba Weilwan woman, chef, and the founder of Indigi Earth, a full plate is both a literal and spiritual reality. Her days are an extraordinary juggle: she directs major festivals, advises government ministers, and manages corporate catering, all while acting as the full-time carer for her brother and being a mother and grandmother.

She recently sat down with former netball champion and host Liz Ellis on Full Plate, a podcast in partnership with Woolworths, where she opened up about what it actually looks like to fuel a life that's as full as hers.

The conversation is a beautiful reminder that food is so much more than just fuel; it's a connection to history, community and profound personal healing. Here's what Australia's most awarded Indigenous chef wants us to understand about the land we live on and the food we put on our tables.

Ditch the term "bush tucker".

If there's one phrase Sharon would love to permanently strike from the Australian vocabulary, it's "bush tucker".

"It was a phrase given to describe our food, but it doesn't really capture the complexity of our food systems or how we care for Mother Earth and Country in the process."

Instead of viewing native ingredients as a novelty or a survival tactic, Sharon views the Australian bush as a highly sophisticated, natural supermarket. Australia has a rich, ancient cuisine rooted in sustainability and seasonal harvesting. When we embrace native ingredients, we aren't just trying a food trend — we are connecting to thousands of years of agricultural history.

Image: Instagram/@indigiearth.

The key to the perfect morning fuel.

With a schedule as demanding as Sharon's, how she starts her day dictates her energy. And while she works with high-end, complex flavours in her professional life, her personal breakfast philosophy is beautifully simple and focused on protein.

Her ultimate go-to? A classic plate of scrambled eggs on sourdough toast.

"I eat eggs all the time," Sharon laughed. "It just carries, especially if I know I've got a really busy or big day."

As a chef, she also let slip the golden rules for mastering the humble scrambled egg at home:

• Don't over-whisk: Whisking the life out of your eggs breaks them down into a watery consistency. Keep it gentle.

• Leave them alone: Avoid constantly moving them around the pan.

• Take them off early: When the eggs look slightly undercooked in the pan, that is exactly when you pull them off the heat. The residual heat will finish the job perfectly over the next 30 seconds.

Sharon is a purist, opting for just a crack of sea salt on top — though she admits she occasionally loves a sprinkle of homegrown saltbush or a drizzle of chilli oil to kickstart her morning.

Using food for spiritual healing.

Sharon's connection to food wasn't always celebrated. Growing up between Gunnedah and Coonabarabran, she spent her childhood out on Country collecting yabbies and wild fruits out of necessity. Back then, she and her family had to hide what they were eating from school teachers and welfare authorities to avoid being targeted.

Today, the native food industry is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, yet First Nations people own less than two per cent of it. It's a gap Sharon is determined to close, fuelled by a deep sense of resilience.

Sharon at the Australian Native Food Festival. Image: Instagram/@indigiearth.

For Sharon, food has quite literally saved her life. After experiencing the terrible loss of her first baby, who was stillborn at full term, she hit rock bottom with her mental health. Returning to business and reconnecting with the land became her continuous healing process.

"Culture didn't give up on me when I was ready to give up on myself," Sharon said. 

"It was my connection to food that was forever going to be my healing."

Your gateway into native flavours.

If you're staring at your weekly meal rotation feeling completely uninspired, Sharon said you don't need to cook a whole kangaroo or find rare ingredients to transform your dinner.

The easiest entry point? Lemon myrtle.

"Just go through your favourite cookbook and wherever you've got lemon or lemongrass used, substitute it for lemon myrtle," Sharon suggested. "It will just transform your whole meal and experience."

It works beautifully in both sweet and savoury dishes, or even brewed as a calming evening tea.

And if you want a quick, low-effort comfort snack to keep you going through a busy week, Sharon suggested swapping out standard sweets for a handful of salted nuts (a road-trip staple of hers) or trying a drizzle of hot chilli honey over your meals for an instant flavour upgrade.

Leaving things better than she found them is what keeps Sharon moving forward. Through her work, including creating the Australian Native Food Festival, she continues to provide a platform for regional First Nations businesses to thrive.

A full plate might be heavy, but when it's filled with community, purpose, and good food, it's incredibly fulfilling.

Listen to the full conversation with Sharon Winsor on Full Plate , wherever you get your podcasts.

Feature Image: Instagram/ @indigiearth .