Braidwood Food Company is celebrating a win at the South East NSW Business Awards, taking home the Excellence in Sustainability Award. Built on a passion for quality food, locally sourced ingredients and sustainable practices, the business has earned recognition for its commitment to doing things differently, with owner Tim Wimbourne and his team proving that good food and sustainability go hand in hand.
The award shines a light on the work Tim and his team have put into building a business that is firmly grounded in slow food principles, strong local connections and a commitment to doing things properly. “This is important because we go really out of our way to be a true slow food business,” said Tim. “That’s what we’ve built everything around. Not just because it’s a good way of marketing yourself, that’s what we believe, and that’s how we eat…For us, this award is an independent recognition that we are doing the right things, that what we’re doing counts, and that what we’re doing is real.”
A chef by trade, Tim said the business grew from his love of food (pasta in particular) and was established following the 2020 bushfires. After losing everything in the fires at their property at Budawang, Tim and his wife made the decision to change their business direction rather than rebuild what had been lost. “We bought the shop during the first COVID lockdown, and we’ve never looked back,” he said. “I’m a foodie; I make no excuses for that,” he said. “I love food, I love pasta — it seemed like a no-brainer really.”
Tim said one of the keys to the business’s success has been staying focused and resisting the temptation to do too much. “I keep it simple,” he said. “That’s the key. I focus on trying to do one thing really, really well, rather than lots of things. I’m trying to truly master one thing.” That clear focus has helped Braidwood Food Company carve out a distinctive place in the region, offering not just a product, but an experience that connects people with the food they eat, the environment it comes from, and the community that helps produce it. “We are selling a product, but we’re also selling a story,” Tim said. “Our story is really unique.”
The business’s connection to Braidwood and the surrounding region is central to what it offers. Tim said the area’s growing network of food producers has made it possible to create something special, with many ingredients sourced locally. “There is now a critical mass of businesses and people in the Braidwood area who are growing and producing food that we can dovetail with,” he said. “All our flavour ingredients come from around Braidwood.”
Tim also credited loyal customers and the wider local business community as being essential to the company’s growth. “Impossible without them,” he said. “Customer loyalty has been key to what we do, and that’s only been possible by being really consistent and keeping our standards as high as we can.”
Looking back, Tim said, “I’m most proud that I started a business from scratch which is successful, it’s still going, and it’s growing every year. “And I’ve done it with integrity.”
When focusing on the future, Tim expressed that the focus remains on continual improvement rather than rapid expansion, with changes already underway to improve sustainability, consistency and product quality. “We want to get better,” Tim said. “We are always tweaking little things such as new packaging, new equipment, improving consistency, reducing waste. All these things count.”
For Tim, the ultimate goal is simple: to leave customers with a memorable experience and a real appreciation for quality local food. “I want them to eat their dinner using the food that we make and recognise that this really is something special,” he said. “This is nice. This is quality. This is really good food.”
Braidwood Food Company is just one of the many unique experiences waiting to be discovered across the Queanbeyan-Palerang region. From passionate producers to independent retailers and local eateries, it’s the people, the stories and connections behind the businesses that make the region so special.
