Ozzie Dining Downunder and Bushfood

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Ever wonder about the Emerils, Rachaels, and Tylers of other countries? How about the chefs of Downunder? Or do you ever think to yourself, what does Ozzy Osbourne chomp down on when he visits the real Ozzieland? I just got Dining Downunder whose subtitle reads "turning international cuisine upside down" (Dining Downunder Pty Ltd, 2004), a book based on an Australian cooking show of the same name. True to its name this book is about three of Australia's television chefs: Benjamin Christie, Vic Cherikoff, and Mark McCluskey as they travel through Australia, visiting restaurants and introducing exotic Aboriginal ingredients like kumara (an orange sweet potato) Desert lime, and Akudjura (bush tomato). Of course there are plenty of recipes for emu, kangaroo, and the yummy-sounding "mud crab." There is a marvelous recipe for Wattled Croc with lime and riberry jam that has so many new ingredients I can't begin to imagine what it's like. The photos are terrific, giving a sense of what the TV shows must be like, along with the dishes and the scenery of Australia. Know any gourmands going to Australia? Here's their food armor. Eager for more, I dived into Vic Cherikoff's The Bushfood Handbook, whose subtitle reads "how to gather, grow, process & cook Australian wild foods." This is a serious and stunning book about Aboriginal foods by Cherikoff, whose company Cherikoff Pty Ltd commercially sells Aboriginal native foods and spices. There are descriptions of plants, recipes and photographs. The recipes are intriguing like Black Nightshade Flan, Warrigal Pasta and Lillipilli Whip. What's best are the photos of the outback, the forests and the wetlands of Australia. There is even a section on Creating Your Own Backyard Foraging Patch. I love the idea of walking through the wild eating and drinking Nature's Bounty a la Ewell Gibbons. For those who like to eat and run, you could hardly be better prepared to trek through the Downunder than with The Bushfood Handbook. Even if you can't get to Australia anytime soon, pick up one of these two books and simply enjoy the food travel. Previoius articles: Anne Willan: The Good Cook Gale Gand's short+sweet More Food From Alton Brown Manju Malhi's India With Passion SOS: Baking From the Heart Madhur Jaffrey: Our Lady of India, CBE All Hail Alfred Portale Agassi's Star Palate: Celebrity Chefs --> back to superchefblog