Emily Salkeld has been baking sourdough for 16 years after working in kitchens, a cheeserie and in vineyards. Her involvement in the Grainz community and committee has continued the interest in localising food production. The deeper in a food maker goes, the more questions there are, but also the more diverse and optimistic the answers become!
Laura Valli is a postdoctoral fellow at University of Missouri and former rye-searcher at WSU Bread Lab. She is a food systems anthropologist focused on the role of rye and lesser known grains in sustainable agriculture and food culture. With a BA in Social Anthropology from Cambridge University and a PhD from Washington State University’s Bread Lab, her research connects breeders, farmers, millers, bakers, and consumers, exploring how grains like rye shape diets, identities, and resilient food systems
Tania and Stephen Walter run Burrum Biodynamics in Marnoo, Victoria. They grow diverse grains and legumes using biodynamic principles, focusing on soil health, ecological regeneration, and long-term farm resilience. Their work reflects a deep commitment to landscape and the interconnected systems that sustain both food and community.
Robert Pekin is a former organic dairy farmer and market gardener, who has spent over two decades pioneering local food system innovations in Australia. He founded Food Connect in 2004, creating a community-based distribution model linking farmers and eaters. In 2018, he and his partner Emma-Kate raised $2 million from 530 supporters to transform an industrial site into Australia’s first multi-enterprise Food Hub, now home to 30+ food businesses.
Through this and his role on the Sustainable Table Fund Advisory Board, Robert has been at the forefront of ethical food systems finance, demonstrating how capital can regenerate communities and local economies. Recently, he turned his attention to fresh flour, commissioning a mill to process diverse grains for the past two years. He also co-founded the Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance, was a founding director of the Open Food Network, and contributed to Fair Food (University of Queensland Press).
Chris Moore is the co-founder and head brewer at Sailors Grave Brewing. Together with his wife Gab, they craft beers that are distinctive, sometimes daring, yet always balanced with nuance and subtle layers of complexity. Their ever evolving range draws on farmed and foraged ingredients to explore a diverse array of styles, each beer reflecting the terroir of place and expressing the region’s agricultural and maritime heritage, and the pristine wilderness they call home. Collaboration sits at the heart of Sailors Grave. Chris and Gab draw inspiration from the farmers, growers, makers, doers, and thinkers they work and share time with, celebrating the interconnected community that shapes their beer and their story.
Miek Paulus is the founder and head baker of Ket Baker, an artisan sourdough bakery on the Bellarine Peninsula, Victoria. Belgian-born and French-trained, Miek established Ket Baker in 2016, crafting naturally leavened breads and pastries made without additives or commercial yeast. Her slow, traditional methods and commitment to flavour celebrate the local landscape and community, expressing a deep respect for time and craft.
Nick Shelley and Jackie Lazarus are the founders of Blue Wren Bakery, an artisanal bakery based in Pomonal, at the foothills of the Grampians in regional Victoria. Their journey began on a road trip across Australia, where they witnessed how deeply communities valued their local bakeries as places of nourishment and connection.
Inspired by this experience, Nick and Jackie established Blue Wren Bakery in 2019, dedicated to baking naturally leavened bread that reflects their region’s character and community. Working closely with local producers, including Stephen and Tania Walter of Burrum Biodynamics, they create bread rooted in flavour, craftsmanship, and a strong sense of place.
Dr Delphine Sicard is a Research Director at INRAE (Montpellier, France), where she leads the Adaptation, Diversity & Ecology of Yeasts (ADEL) research unit. Her work investigates the genetic and ecological mechanisms that drive yeast domestication and adaptation in baking and wine fermentation, with a particular focus on Saccharomyces cerevisiae and traditional French sourdough communities.
Dr Sicard’s research spans microbial ecology and evolutionary genomics, exploring how microbial diversity underpins food quality, flavour, and resilience. She has contributed to landmark studies on yeast domestication across bread, beer, and wine, and on the rich biodiversity of artisanal sourdough systems in France.
Grainz Committee
Grainz is an independent, entirely volunteer led organisation. Our co-chairs are:
Pippa James- Co-founder of Urbanstead and cookbook author passionate about connecting regenerative growers and eaters.
Emily Salkeld – Experienced baker and grain advocate specialising in wholegrain sourdough and farmer–baker collaborations.
Kate Howell – Microbiologist and biochemist focused on the interactions between ecology, flavour, function and nutrition.
Courtney Young – Co-founder of Woodstock Flour, producing and promoting regeneratively grown grains and wholegrain, stoneground flour.