(I always imagine this line of our national anthem refers to Hugh Jackman and Miranda Kerr)
Long before the First Fleet arrived in 1788, Indigenous Australians developed a unique hunter-gatherer diet known as Bush Tucker. They lived off the natural fauna and flora drawn from regional Australia: kangaroo, emu, wallaby, crocodile, fish that they speared, moths and native fruit, berries, nuts and honey. The British did not take favourably to this menu of foreign ingredients, and introduced cattle, sheep, wheat and western vegetables. After WWII, multicultural immigration saw the diversification of Australian cuisine, adding distinctive Mediterranean and Asian flair and flavours.
Today Australian Cuisine is considered to bring some of the most innovative, advanced and interesting food to the gastronomic world. Australian Chefs are internationally acclaimed - think Neil Perry, Kylie Kwong, Curtis Stone, Bill Granger, Maggie Beer...the list goes on. And one cannot ignore the role Australian Master Chef - broadcasted in over 30 countries - plays in positioning Australia as a world superpower when comes to quality and variety of fresh produce.
Australians are meat eaters. Grilling a juicy beef steak or 'n tender lamb chop over the coals is a national pastime. Throwing a couple of snags (sausages) on the barbie (barbeque) is synonymous with the relaxed outdoor lifestyle. Aussies are also high consumers of dairy, with Australian cheese regularly walking away with Best in Show awards on the international stage - beating the French in making Brie, and the Dutch in making Gouda. And then there is the quality coffee culture. Short black, flat white, macchiato, piccolo, latte ...call it what you like - Australia is a coffee drinking nation with over 2,5 billion cups bought from vendors and cafes last year. (A new report reveals that coffee has become the basis for social stereotyping: latte drinkers are perceived to be "high maintenance", flat white drinkers are down-to-earth and laid back, cappuccino drinkers are "fun", espresso drinkers are successful, and macchiato drinkers are considered arrogant.....)
One cannot write about Australian food without mentioning the icons: Vegemite, Tim Tams, Lamingtons, Cherry Ripe (Australia's oldest chocolate bar), Chiko rolls (basically a giant spring roll sold at the footy) and Iced VoVo's. Australia also claims the Pavlova ( really a Kiwi invention) and the Vanilla Slice (actually the French mille feuille).
None of that last night. We decided to explore the native flavours of Australia. Bush Tucker is gaining in popularity as the modern Australian seeks to understand the culinary contribution of the original inhabitants on this island continent. Tukka Restaurant (again in West End...see suburb profile week 23: Nepal) takes native bush food and turns it into international gourmet cuisine. In line with the discerning diner's desire to know what they are eating and where it comes from, the origin of each core ingredient is specified. We shared three Native Platters as an introduction to some of the more unusual ingredients: a selection of game meats (emu, crocodile and kangaroo) with fruits, nuts, damper (soda bread) and dips (lemon myrtle, mountain pepper, and bush tomato). For mains Keith had the pan fried gnocchi and bush tomato cream; Phil and Nielen ordered the Crispy skinned Tasmanian salmon served with a smoked celeriac puree, asparagus and a native tamarind butter sauce; Boetie chose the Seared Queensland kangaroo, fondant potato, baked rhubarb and a native hibiscus jus; Martina opted for the Marburg emu fillet, sweet potato and Tonka bean puree and cider braised nashi pear with an orange jus; Kerry had the Aniseed myrtle prawn tortellini, pickled vegetables with a lemon grass tomato broth and I decided on the Crackling pork belly with pressed apples, watercress and an apple and muntries sauce. We could not resist the dessert - Deconstructed finger lime tart served with toasted meringue, vanilla sabla and house made lemon myrtle sherbet and a Cheese plate selection served with crostini, glacé quandongs and baby fruit. We all agreed - the food was exceptional. Bold and delicate flavours intricately balanced, beautifully presented with portions just the right size. True to Australia's reputation of being one of the most expensive countries in the world (third after Denmark and Switzerland), this was by far our most expensive meal to date.
Fact time: We started with some fun facts.... (Did you know that wombat poop is cube shaped? Did you know that the Australian Alps receive more snow than the Swiss Alps? And did you know that the world's longest mail run is from Cairns to Cape York (1450km)...the postman flies!)
......and then covered some history : The Commonwealth of Australia became a constitutional monarchy in 1901. Before then, Australia was divided into 6 self-governing British colonies, subject to British law. After federation, the colonies became States of the Federation of Australia. Yes, we are still very much attached to the hip of the British Monarchy. Australia and Britain are separate nations, but sharing the same person (currently Queen Elizabeth the II) as our relevant sovereign. I do not wish to get embroiled in a political debate, however, it does seem rather odd that our head of State is some 15,000 km away. One would think that it is inevitable that Australia, too, will one day become a Republic.
Keith had too many facts to mention (amongst them the origin of Aussie Rules Football...designed to give cricketers something to play off-season), and I had to censor Kerry's fact.....
Of the seven of us around the table, only Kerry was born in Australia. Of the 23,1 million people in Australia, 25% were born overseas, representing over 200 nationalities. And it is for this very reason that we are able to embark on this tour of culinary diversity in our own backyard. Next week....Afghanistan.
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