Vegemite turns 100: how the spread changed the way Australia eats, from nostalgia to Noma

For many Vegemite is a comfort food and a reminder of home, says Matt Gray of Bega Group, which bought the brand from its foreign owners in 2017. Vegemite marks its 100-year anniversary on Wednesday. Photograph: Julian Smith/AAP

Jamie Callister, the grandson of Vegemite creator Cyril Callister, is one of the millions of Australians who starts the day with a slice of buttery toast licked with a thin swipe of our beloved national spread.

“He was a brilliant scientist,” Callister says of his grandfather, who was recruited by Melbourne-based entrepreneur Fred Walker to develop a homegrown alternative to Marmite using spent brewer’s yeast from the nearby Carlton and United Breweries. “Today marks the 100-year anniversary of the first jar of his creation coming off the production line.”