To celebrate Australia Day last month, Blackwattle’s chef Clayton Wells brought in some really strange-looking ingredients. There were berries in purple, yellow and orange hues; a plate of tiny little apples; oblong red-and-green citrus fruits; and glistening succulent leaves covered in what looked like frost. They had names like muntries, quandongs, riberries, saltbush, finger limes and crystal ice plant.
Those are not frosty dewdrops on the crystal ice plant
These are just some examples of the native bush foods or bush tucker of the Aboriginal people in Australia. And though they have been consumed for centuries, they burst into the international spotlight when Noma’s Rene Redzepi relocated his restaurant to Sydney for a 10-week stint in 2016 creating a menu around these indigenous ingredients, sparking the conversation around Australian cuisine.
Speaking of his fellow Australian chefs, Wells says: “We’re all aware that we should be using native ingredients more, but we want to make sure we are using these ingredients in a more thoughtful way so it won’t become a cliché.
“There was a time in the late 90s when you’d go to an Australian restaurant and you would have kangaroo and mashed kumara, native pepper berry and some Hibiscus sauce. It was very clichéd and people stopped using this sort of stuff for a while because of that. It’s important to use these produce in the right way, instead on just piling it on a plate, because it doesn’t work out like that.”
“There was a time in the late 90s when you’d go to an Australian restaurant and you would have kangaroo and mashed kumara, native pepper berry and some Hibiscus sauce. It was very clichéd and people stopped using this sort of stuff for a while because of that. It’s important to use these produce in the right way, instead on just piling it on a plate, because it doesn’t work out like that.”
Even in Australia where these ingredients are from, they are most times unheard of, overlooked, or at best, a novelty at restaurants. While some, like salt bush or finger limes have become more mainstream, farmed and sold in markets or even exported, a lot of the time, these seemingly exotic produce grow in many an Australian’s backyard without them even knowing.
“Take these riberries, for instance,” says Wells, rolling the bright red fruit between his fingers. “My parents have a farm up in Gippsland in southern Victoria and my dad said to me last week: “Lilly pillies? You want lilly pilly berries? I have about 25 lilly pilly trees in my backyard.” And he doesn’t know what to do with them. Lots of the time, it’s just a plant in the backyard and food for the birds.”
The riberries are sweet and tart, and chef Wells incorporates them into a dessert of barley ice cream where its acidity and almost cinnamon-like spicy taste sits well with the flavours of rhubarb and vanilla. “As you taste these, you’ll understand their flavour profile. These are very sour and you know rather than seeking vinegar or other things to get acidity, you can use these to get a burst of freshness,” he says. “It’s about having these ingredients at the back of your head, so you can use them thoughtfully”
