“We work with the seasons, support and use local, small-scale growers, producers, and makers, and encourage home food crafts and cooking from scratch. We use only ethical meats from our trusted supplier Feather and Bone, and are always trying to reduce our waste output, and most of our dishes are vegetarian.”

Wapengo oysters topped with pickling brine; Cornersmith chicken liver pâté with cherries fermented during summer at the Cornersmith Picklery, and dark rye from Dust BakeHouse; and roasted carrots with kumquat pickling brine, tahini, sesame, buckwheat, and chives.

At Marrickville’s Cornersmith, there’s a dessert made entirely from ingredients from the suburb itself: the honey comes from the café’s rooftop, and fruit and herbs are from neighbours’ backyards via the genius produce-trading scheme.

Everything is local and nothing is wasted. Cornersmith will create a second life for seventy kilos of oranges originally used by Archie Rose Distilling Co. to flavour gin, turning the spent fruit into cocktail syrups and cakes. Expended grains from Young Henrys brewery get transformed into a wholemeal flour for baked goods at their all-vegetarian sister café in Annandale. Long-time collaborator Kristen Allen makes yoghurt, labneh, and cheeses for the menu, while owner Alex Elliott-Howery holds regular classes in the Cornersmith Picklery on how to preserve, ferment, and reduce kitchen waste.

“For seven years, Cornersmith has scored high marks for its forwardthinking approach to minimizing food waste, using local produce, and fermenting, smoking, and handpreserving in-house.” Time Out Sydney