Bandu Catering has won the ACT NAIDOC Business of the Year Award which was presented at the NAIDOC Ball on Saturday 6 July 2013.

Jo Donovan is the brains behind this fresh and original approach to Australian catering, which, along with her son and daughter team, aims to promote the use of native foods and flavours in contemporary Australian cuisine.

“Our aim is to create innovative menus using the native foods that have been the staple diet of Indigenous Australians for generations” explains Jo. “We provide our clients with the freshest ingredients - sourced from local markets in and around the Canberra region.”

Bandu, which means food in the Dhanggati language, uses a diverse range of ingredients to make their speciality dishes and it is proving to be extremely popular - with kangaroo, lemon myrtle, warrigal greens and mountain pepper berry having already struck a strong chord with their ever-growing clientele.

“In the last year, the business has gone from strength to strength. We have secured more than 200 clients, delivered a range of training courses to stay-at-home parents wanting to give their children a healthier diet, and we were announced as the cuisine provider for VIP guests at Canberra’s 100th birthday. This award has really topped off the year beautifully.”

The ACT NAIDOC Business of the Year Award seeks to celebrate the success of Indigenous businesses with the ACT Government providing a range of business support programs which help businesses overcome obstacles to growth. A number of the nominated businesses have used these programs and are thriving.

David Dawes, Director General at the Economic Development Directorate said “the strong field of nominations for the Business of the Year Award is proof that Canberra’s Indigenous business community is thriving.

“I congratulate Bandu Catering for their success in integrating community values and Indigenous culture into their very successful business.”

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