Alecia Wood

Time Out is profiling the incredible people who are shaping the future of Sydney in this Future Shaper series. These remarkable individuals and organisations were nominated by a panel of expert judges including editor of Time Out Sydney Maxim Boon, celebrity chef and restaurateur Kylie Kwong, head of talks and ideas at the Sydney Opera House Edwina Throsby, NSW 24-hour economy commissioner Michael Rodrigues, CEO of IndigiLab Luke Briscoe, and NIDA resident director David Berthold. Read more about the project here. If you’ve ever eaten great Thai food in Sydney, chances are you were at one of the Chat Thai group’s venues. Their eateries include three Chat Thai restaurants, Jarern Chai Grocer, Boon Cafe, and Samosorn Thai Local Food Hall.  After returning from living overseas in 2010, Palisa Anderson and her husband Matt joined the family-run hospitality business. The group was founded in 1989 by Anderson’s late mother, Amy Chanta, who sadly passed away earlier this year. Opening new and varied venues across the city was the start of their work together – then, they went as far as Byron Bay, starting a farm to supply their burgeoning outposts with specialty, high-quality produce. Anderson is especially – and contagiously – passionate about the regenerative methods used at Boon Luck Farm, yielding subtropical treasures like Hawaiian pink guavas, winged glory beans and red Panama passionfruit. Situated over 30 acres, this is no backyard veggie patch; it’s an ambitious and princip