Illawarra Folk Festival catering icon Jules Mitry will never forget her first festival back in 2003, in the “Jamberoo days”.
As she prepares for the 40th anniversary festival at Bulli Showground on January 15-17, Jules reflects on more than two decades as a “folky”.
Jules Mitry with daughter Mahuni and staff members Yoses and Ibhi (right) at the Balinese Spice Magic stall at the Illawarra Folk Festival.
Newly arrived from Bali in 2003 to study in Wollongong, Jules was part of a squad of TAFE Hospitality Management work experience students who worked as volunteers at the festival. She loved it.
“I was just a silly young Balinese girl, trying to make friends with my broken English,” she said. “But I have such beautiful memories of that first festival, where I met a lot of people who have become long-time friends.”
It infused in her a love of the festival, and a determination to stay involved.
For the next few years Jules (full name Niwayan Juliana Mitry – but everyone calls her Jules) performed traditional Balinese dances at the festival.
Meanwhile, she had moved on from TAFE to study for an Economics degree at the University of Wollongong (UOW), majoring in Business Innovation.
She’d also married her Australian boyfriend, environmental engineer Will Mitry, and established her first business – a food truck called Dwipa (meaning two worlds in Balinese) Kitchen that she set up at festivals (including the Illawarra Folk festival of course) and other events, serving Balinese street food.
Oh, and she and Will started a family with the arrival in 2006 of their daughter Mahuni, now 20 and studying neuroscience in Sydney, followed by sons Louie, now 17, and Lando (13).
After graduating, Jules spent seven years working at UOW in Student Services, but as Dwipa Kitchen’s popularity grew she dreamt of starting a restaurant serving the food of her homeland. Balinese Spice Magic opened in Keira St, Wollongong 13 years ago and has become a fixture in the city’s dining scene.
Jules and Will Mitry enjoy some time out at the 2026 Illawarra Folk Festival. Picture: Li Teoh.
But Jules didn’t forget the Illawarra Folk Festival, and has continued a tradition started with Dwipa Kitchen when the festival moved from Jamberoo to Bulli Showground in 2006 by operating a Balinese Spice Magic stall at every subsequent festival.
“We’ve had plenty of adventures over the years … lots of different weather, from ankle-deep mud to a heat wave one year when it hit 52 degrees. But in the end, it’s all about the friendships you make, and the sense of community,” Jules said. “That’s why we do it, that’s why we love it.”
And, of course, the music. “Our staff are great, so while they’re running the stall I can just go out and dance to the music,” she said.
In January, when the festival celebrates its 40th anniversary, Will and a team of helpers will set up the distinctive orange and green Balinese Spice Magic stall, made from home-grown bamboo and sustainably-sourced Shoalhaven canvas, before their crew of six begin cooking the food that has been prepped at Balinese Spice Magic by the restaurant kitchen staff. “The rest of the team will be working hard back at the restaurant, helping with the preparation so we can keep things running smoothly,” she said.
Jules promises a menu along the same lines as previous years, which means a selection of vegetarian, beef and chicken dishes, rice, of course, and street food favourites sate lilit (spicy minced chicken wrapped around a sugar cane stalk), potato cakes, and tempeh and vegetable fritters. For something sweet, Jules offers sticky black rice and pandan crepes.
“All our dishes have their followers at the festival. We cook real Balinese food, made fresh with local spices,” said Jules. “I love feeding hungry bellies during the festival weekend”.
Festival Director Shane Moon is an old friend and says Jules and the Balinese Spice Magic crew are the very heart and soul of the Illawarra Folk Festival.
“Our festival is more than just about great music and performances. It’s also about the other activities that give it such a sense of community, and our food and merchandise stalls are a big part of that. Jules is a great friend of mine, and a great friend of the festival. Her stall is one of our most popular, and the festival just wouldn’t be the same without her,” Shane said.
Balinese Spice Magic has a policy of never wasting food. When the restaurant opened in 2013 Jules began distributing left-over food to a soup kitchen. This has developed into a weekly program that delivers more than 100 meals each week to the Homeless Hub. Jules says it is her family’s contribution to a community that is now her home.
News written by festival publicity officer Nick Hartgerink 0418424085
