When Chef Karen Martini becomes involved in a project, the expectation is that her expertise will extend beyond being a basic ambassador. More than a collaborator who simply sits in on an occasional Zoom meeting. And signs off headshots to be used for marketing.
Perhaps, it is because Martini’s cooking has always carried a sense of purpose that extends beyond flavour, touching on how food fits into daily life rather than existing apart from it.
Her role in shaping the menu at Explorers Somerville suggests a similar approach, though the context is markedly different. This new nature-based early learning precinct, from Lynda Salvo, Founder & CEO of Explorers Early Learning (set to open on the Mornington Peninsula in July 2026), is built around the idea that children learn as much from their environment as they do from formal instruction.
This approach responds to the reality that most early learning settings treat meals as a logistical necessity. Educators plan meals to meet guidelines, prepare them at scale, and fit them around the day’s schedule with minimal disruption. The system prioritises efficiency and, in many cases, necessity.
Explorers Somerville approaches it differently. Food is treated as part of the learning environment itself. Martini’s input draws on seasonal produce, local sourcing and a paddock-to-plate sensibility, but the more interesting shift is how that translates into daily rhythm rather than standalone meals.
It matters, particularly in the early years, when brain development, behaviour and habit formation are still highly malleable. In fact, researchers estimate that the brain develops around 90% of its capacity before the age of five, which gives nutrition a far more influential role than people often recognise. As a result, diets rich in whole foods, healthy fats and micronutrients can support improved memory, concentration and emotional regulation in young children.
At the same time, the practical reality is less aligned with that understanding. More than 95% of Australian children aged 2–3 are not meeting vegetable intake recommendations, pointing to a gap that sits less with food supply and more with early exposure and repetition.
That gap is what Salvo is clearly responding to, rather than treating food as an operational requirement. In her framing, the partnership with Martini is less about menu design and more about shifting what early learning environments consider part of their remit. Food becomes one of the earliest, most consistent touchpoints for shaping preference and familiarity.
As Salvo explains, “We’ve always believed the environment is the third teacher, and that extends to every touchpoint within the day, including food.
Working with Karen Martini allowed us to approach the menu with the same intent as the rest of the centre – grounded in seasonality, exposure and experience. It’s not about creating something exceptional in isolation, but something consistent that children can build familiarity with over time.”
In practice, educators integrate meals into the broader rhythm of the day rather than treating them as isolated moments. They connect food experiences with gardening, outdoor play and seasonal observation, allowing children to encounter ingredients in different settings and contexts. As a result, children build familiarity and recognition over time instead of feeling pressure to accept new foods the moment they appear on a plate.
The physical structure of the centre supports this idea. A dual model allows for both a dedicated kindergarten program and visiting groups, creating overlap between different stages of learning. Bush Kinder and an Artist in Residence program extend that even further, with the environment itself treated as part of the curriculum rather than a backdrop to it.
Food, in that sense, becomes one more way of interpreting the world rather than a separate category within it.
Martini’s role sits within that system without overpowering it. There is a line in projects like this between integration and overstatement, and her approach seems to sit deliberately on the restrained side of that divide. Educators present food in a way that feels recognisable, consistent and gradually expanding. They build familiarity into the experience from the outset, helping children develop confidence with ingredients over time rather than stripping away the comfort of the familiar in pursuit of novelty
That restraint is important, because early learning environments are not restaurants and should not behave like them. The work here is not to elevate food into an idea, but to make it part of something more ordinary and repeatable.
Still, the broader question sits underneath all of it. When educators treat food as part of the learning experience rather than as a service layered on top of it, they challenge the narrow way many early childhood settings define its role.
