Who is My Grandma Ben?


Hello! Welcome to our community. My Grandma Ben is a sustainably focused eatery, bar and workshop space.

We are actively working to minimise food and plastic waste as much as we possibly can in our kitchen and workspace, with ethical food production and sustainable business practices at the core of what we do. 

But we don't want to get all preachy, it's going to be fun. We hope to help make the ethical choice the easy choice, and believe that the sustainable way doesn't have to mean missing out.

Our veggie-focused menu celebrates the seasons, champions local producers and growers, and is jam packed with our house-made pickles, preserves and ferments. 

And we want to share what we have learned with you! Our aim is to nourish community engagement through our hands-on pickling, preserving and fermenting workshops and by sharing recipes, tips and tricks for reducing waste in the kitchen and home. My Grandma Ben is a place to start for those beginning their journey of and finding the joy of creating things from scratch. 

Yes, Grandma Ben was indeed a real person - our founder Jessie’s grandma in fact. Called Ben as a hybrid of Betty and Gran, coined by the oldest grandchild Lachie, the name stuck firm and was passed on to future grandchildren. Ben was a generation of sophisticated, frugal women, who could seemingly whip up a three course meal from nowhere and took care in her home and garden. There was a humble gratitude when sharing food. A celebration of a ripe strawberry, a carefulness to use up leftovers, and the joy in sharing something a little more special such as seafood. 

Here at My Grandma Ben, we truly believe that looking back to how our elders lived is the best way to move forward. We want to bring back the gratitude when enjoying food and where it came from, and the mindfulness around consumption of goods.


Meat The Team

Jessie Spiby - Co-owner 
Desperately wanting to be part of the solution and not part of the problem, Jessie began My Grandma Ben as a way to help people beginning to dabble into eco conscious and sustainable ideas. The big dream is to make making good choices easier than making bad ones.  

Taylor Peplow Ball - Co-owner
Taylor comes with bags of experience. From managing WorkShop Adelaide to championing Slow Food Australia and working with small food producers, she has a fountain of experience and strives to live more sustainably each and every day. We couldn't live without her.

Jodie Zerna - Co-owner
An avid gardener and keen fermenter, Jodie is the perfect person to complete our small team. Passionate about quality food (and beer) she comes with over seventeen years of experience which reflects in her flavoursome cooking. A love of fishing and the outdoors keeps this pint sized lady down to earth.

We love to collaborate, email hello@mygrandmaben.com if you'd like to chat ideas.