Myrna Tonkinson is currently an honorary research fellow in Anthropology and Sociology at the University of Western Australia, having retired from teaching anthropology. She was awarded her PhD by the University of Oregon, USA, and has held a variety of positions in academia, government and quasi-government organisations. She has had a decades-long interest in food, growing, cooking, sharing and eating it. She has taught courses on food and culture, as well as cooking, and attended many symposia, lectures, courses and events on food-related topics.