Eatable Volume 08: Home Grown

This issue, as the weather grows a little cooler here in the southern hemisphere, we turn our gaze towards our own homeland. Our country, Australia; made up of hundreds of Indigenous nations, rooted in more than 65,000 years of culture, alongside millions of children of immigrants. We all call this sacred country home, and in these pages we celebrate the people, the produce, the food and wines, the destinations, the values and belief systems that give Australia its sense of place. 

We chat to Currie Country founder, Minyunbal woman Arabella Douglas, who is championing the importance of native ingredients within the framework of Aboriginal philosophy and the inherent value of food’s connection to the land on which it’s grown. 

We take the time to honour Vegemite (you’re welcome), and Lee Potter Cavanagh mixes up a truly nostalgic cocktail menu using inspiration from the beloved Australian soft drinks of our childhoods - think cordial, Milo and Solo - with the addition of specially selected native flavours taken from his own Aboriginal ancestry.

The humble meat pie gets a makeover by LuMi Dining chef Federico Zanellato at his Sydney pie shop LoDe (p16), and classic pub dining welcomes a new generation thanks to young star chef Anna Ugarte-Carral’s modern recipes at the historic Old Fitzroy pub. 

Long regarded as a typically ‘Aussie’ dinner, lamb is given pride of place in many households across the land, and our menu celebrating Lynden lamb from the Central Tablelands of NSW will inspire those who find themselves looking for something more than a simple roast. And, Rob Cockerill, head chef of Bennelong restaurant, set within the sails of Sydney’s Opera House, serves up an at-home feast that pays homage to the beautiful, wild and ancient land that we call home.