
Tessa is Australian, as are her parents, grandparents and great grandparents. Her father’s ancestors came from Scandinavia. At the time, many families with the surname ‘Andersen’ were emigrating to Australia so her family decided to change the spelling to ‘Anderssen’ (adding an ‘s’) in order to differentiate themselves and importantly, ensure their letters did not get mixed up in the mail along with all the other Andersens!
Tessa is not particularly connected to her Scandinavian history and says her red hair is perhaps her strongest link back.
She says food growing up was typically Australian including dishes like spaghetti bolognaise and fish fingers featuring regularly at the dinner table. This was in contrast to the gourmet meals her grandmother is known for. In particular, she makes summer pudding every Christmas, following an old-fashioned recipe that involves weighing the mixture down with a brick.
Tessa recently spent a year living in Cambodia where she loved trying lots of different street food with thanks to her super power of never getting food poisoning. Noodles from street vendors, avocado shakes at the markets and a fresh coconut in the tuk tuk on the way to work each day were highlights of the experience.
View more of Fast Ed’s photo series by clicking here.
Related Posts
-
William Ross
-
Cultural cuisines you may never have tried (and should!)
-
Tammy – Playfair Visa and Migration Services
-
ASF Audit’s first A Taste of Harmony celebration
-
What did you eat today?
-
Caring about cultural diversity – AutoCare Services
-
Cristina – Playfair Visa and Migration Services
-
Arq Group
-
Angel – Reach Out
-
A Taste of Harmony brings ‘Besties’ together – Best and Less
-
Junnan – Yoghurt Digital
-
Australia Post – 10 year participant and major supporter
-
Chung Jae Lee: My Korean heritage
-
Joe – Yoghurt Digital
-
How a garden in a Brighton backyard is connecting cultures
-
Petra – Playfair Visa and Migration Services
-
Ayca – Yoghurt Digital
-
Carly Day: Learning more about my cultural background
-
Who makes the best desserts?
-
Department of Local Government, Racing and Multicultural Affairs, QLD
-
Why your workplace should celebrate A Taste of Harmony
-
Mckenzie – Yoghurt Digital
-
Dominique Rizzo: What I learnt about my cultural heritage
-
Sally – Blackbird PR
-
Dave – Reach Out
-
Maxine – Reach Out
-
What is Australian cuisine?
-
Matthew – Yoghurt Digital
-
How entrepreneurship enables economic independence for migrant women
-
A Taste of Harmony at Harding Martin
-
Kristin – Playfair Visa and Migration Services
-
Flourish Australia leads by example, and wins a visit by Celebrity Chef, Fast Ed!
-
Newmont
-
Why cultural diversity is an important workplace conversation
-
How does your heritage affect what you eat?
-
Centre for Multicultural Youth
-
Samantha – Playfair Visa and Migration Services
-
City of Whittlesea
-
Mitchell – Reach Out
-
Metro South Health
-
What’s your favourite food?
-
Sukaina – Playfair Visa and Migration Services
-
Multiculturalism a key ingredient of Melbourne’s ‘happy cafe’
-
What makes Australian food culture so diverse?
-
Fast Ed’s A Taste of Harmony Photo Series
-
What’s in your pantry?
-
Melissa Leong – Learning more about my cultural heritage
-
Neha – Playfair Visa and Migration Services
-
Gilad – Yoghurt Digital
-
Emma – Blackbird PR
-
Australian Taxation Office
-
Krisztina – Reach Out
-
What does food mean to you?
-
Pride in Diversity for Major Hotel Group – Accor Hotels
-
4 reasons to introduce A Taste of Harmony to your workplace
-
Phoebe – Playfair Visa and Migration Services
-
A workplace champion for harmony – Department of Human Services
-
How many cuisines have you eaten in your life?



