About Us
My Dilly Bag celebrates over 25 years of sharing the rich flavours and cultural knowledge of Australia’s native foods.
The Journey
Our Why
20 years ago, Aunty Dale Chapman formed this business with a dream that is fuelled by her deep cultural pride - to achieve true equality for all Australians.
My Dilly Bag proudly builds awareness of the oldest living culture in the world - the Australian Aboriginal culture - to educate the national and international community and together take positive steps towards reconciliation.
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It is through sharing delicious Australian native foods, yarning and learning about traditional knowledge that honours our past and builds respect and joy into our future. My Dilly Bag creates a comfortable environment where Indigenous and non-indigenous people can learn from and about each other.
My Dilly Bag works sustainably with Aboriginal communities that grow and harvest bush tucker ingredients, and Aboriginal artisan creators. By providing a platform to develop, market and distribute Aboriginal products, My Dilly Bag empowers communities to maintain their traditions, creates new income streams and cultural pride. This improves the lifestyle of Indigenous people and provides a positive landscape for future generations
About Aunty Dale Chapman
Dale Chapman is an Indigenous woman born in Dirranbandi in south west Queensland on Yuwaalaraay and Kooma tribal lands. She has lived and worked on Gubbi Gubbi land, known as the Sunshine Coast, since 1976. Dale’s totem, emu, is passed on to her through her father’s family and the possum through her mother’s family.
Regarded as a leader in her field, Aunty Dale is the founder of My Dilly Bag, a celebrated and award-winning chef, cookbook author, public speaker, television personality, and lecturer.
For more than 35 years, she has created culinary experiences ranging from French cuisine to contemporary Australian food, while championing the world's oldest living food culture and the authority of First Nations peoples over their knowledge, foods and stories.
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Aunty Dale delivers keynote addresses and guest presentations at conferences, universities and industry events in Australia and overseas. Her speaking brings together culture, Country, food, enterprise and respectful engagement. She shares practical knowledge of native ingredients, their flavours and uses, while advocating for cultural governance, Indigenous authority, informed consent, fair benefit sharing and stronger First Nations participation across the bushfood, tourism and business sectors.
Leadership and current work
Aunty Dale is a Director of the Queensland Indigenous Business Network (QIBN), contributing to the growth of Indigenous businesses, stronger regional connections and a more influential First Nations business sector across Queensland. She is also Chair of Stepping Black Indigenous Australia and founder of The First Traders Ltd, supporting community-led enterprise, training and pathways for First Nations entrepreneurs. At the University of Queensland, Aunty Dale is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability. She is a project leader for A Deadly Solution: Towards an Indigenous-led Bushfood Industry, bringing Traditional Custodians, Indigenous experts and researchers together to strengthen community ownership, protect biocultural knowledge, support sustainable production and ensure First Nations peoples benefit from research and commercialisation. Aunty Dale's new projects include GATHAA First Nations Markets, which creates culturally strong trading, mentoring and performance opportunities for First Nations businesses and young people, and the proposed First Nations Tourism Precinct on the Sunshine Coast. The precinct is being developed as a dedicated place for cultural learning, native food experiences, tourism, manufacturing, entrepreneurship, training and employment, with a long-term vision extending to the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games and beyond.
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Join us on the journey to bring bushfoods back to every table — taste, learn, and connect with Country through My Dilly Bag.
We’re building food sovereignty and opportunity for Indigenous communities by supporting ethical and transparent supply chains.
