On Wednesday as part of recognising NAIDOC week, students in Half Year Foods by Design celebrated indigenous bush food flavours and enjoyed a lunch in The Nest Café.

We tasted venison and pepper berry pie, pork ribs in a bush tomato bbq sauce, native dukkah with fresh baked focaccia and  ‘salt and pepper’ crocodile (using pepperberry, lemon myrtle and bush tomato) with a mango chilli sauce. We finished our feast with rich wattleseed brownies.

As a class we talked about the native ingredients that are now readily accessible (especially locally) and how they can be used with our usual food staples to create delicious dishes. We discussed how First Nation’s Peoples also use some of these ingredients for medicinal and ceremonial purposes and the impact of hunting on crocodiles (now a protected species) – and recent expansion of croc farming for skins and meat. Locally we talked about control of feral pests such as deer.

Adrienne McMahon

Hospitality and Catering Teacher