The following is a transcript of a speech delivered by Leena van Deventer (Victorian Women’s Trust Board Member) as part of International Women’s Day gathering, ‘Balance the Scales.’ This conversation was hosted by Hilary McNevin at Arlechin and sought to recognise the important role of women in the hospitality industry. $5 from every ticket was kindly donated to the Victorian Women’s Trust.

Through more than 700 grants over 40 years, the Victorian Women’s Trust has been  a force for social change: investing in feminist grants, targeted research, and  advocacy for women and girls. Over that time, we’ve funded community  organisations directly connected to food and cooking, including the migrant  women’s food enterprise SisterWorks, and the Horsham Hospitality Workforce  Pathways project for the Centre for Participation. Our sub-funds have also  supported women to pass on vital cultural knowledge through food to help keep  their cultures alive.  

Over the decades, the Trust has a long, proud connection with the women of the  food industry. In fact, we were personally schooled in the art of hospitality by one of  the absolute best, our former convenor — Duré Dara OAM. 

Many of you may know Duré; her name has been synonymous with the Melbourne  food scene forever. She also served on our Board for over a decade, and she is a  vital part of our history. It gives me great pleasure to share some of her story with  you tonight.  

Duré frequently describes herself as: “Indian by race, Malaysian by birth, and  Australian by choice.”  

She arrived in Melbourne from Malaysia in the 1960s, studied at Melbourne Uni,  and became a social worker and a percussionist, mixing with the city’s bohemian  set. But in the 1980s, her path crossed with another Australian food icon: Stephanie  Alexander.  

Duré reflected on that period in a recent interview:  

“My first job in hospitality was working front-of-house at Stephanie’s [on  Brunswick Street] where it was all brothels and gambling dens…Stephanie  Alexander had opened a restaurant in the middle of all the fuss….the food  was French with a fixe prix menu. People used to call out ‘fixed pricks!’  because of our neighbouring massage parlour.”  

In that interview, Duré spoke of Stephanie with such fondness and feminist collegiality. Duré said:  

“To be offered a front-of-house opportunity to match Stephanie’s dedication  in the kitchen was a dream. Together we built an amazing team and a superb  experience.”  

Duré’s connection with the food industry continued long after her collaboration  with Stephanie Alexander.  

She established and ran EQ, a restaurant on SouthBank near the Arts Centre for  many years; Donovans; and there was Nudel Bar, which used to be a few doors up at the top end of Bourke Street, as well as other cafes around Melbourne.  

For Duré, hospitality wasn’t an industry—it was an offering. She has a philosophy  that I think everyone in this room will recognise. She says:  

“Some people don’t have the patience, empathy, or humour for hospitality… You always have to be on, anticipating what people want before they even  think to ask for it. I thrive in the environment, and I still love its true essence.”  

“If somebody throws their fur coat in your face, you smile, hang it up, get  them a nice table where they can settle in, and suck their bones and lick their  fingers, and you let them return to their human form. You don’t put them  under the light.”  

That idea of “letting people return to their human form” is exactly why Duré made  such an impact on the Victorian Women’s Trust. It’s in remembering how we  connect to one another and our essential humanity. It was on Duré’s recommendation and insistence, back in the early 1990s, that the  Trust began starting every single event with an Acknowledgement of Country. We  were one of the first non-Indigenous led organisations in the state to make that a formal protocol.  

To Duré, this was about acknowledging whose land it is we are meeting on today, in  the spirit of reconciliation and beginning as you mean to go on. It was also  fundamentally an expression of hospitality, setting the scene.  It’s the same essence that’s evident in your day-to-day jobs: the very purpose of  sharing a meal and sharing space is to acknowledge the humanity of the person  sitting across from you.  

Just like Duré, you are all part of a feminist tradition of women shaping the food  and wine industry. Thank you for supporting the work of the Vic Women’s Trust.  Thank you for offering people the space and opportunity to “return to their human  form.” Thank you for joining us arm in arm to make things better for other people.  We’re so proud to stand with you. 

Leena van Deventer is an award-winning game developer, writer, and arts manager living in Melbourne, Australia.