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By Laura Walls
From emu and kangaroo to native nuts and fruits, Australian bush foods have been on the menu for our Indigenous people for over 40,000 years.
Learn where to find traditional bush tucker and discover Australia’s best kept culinary secrets with this guide to bush food in Queensland.
The first stop on your bush food tour is Nudgee Waterholes, just north of Brisbane. Not only is this a place of great spiritual significance to the local Turrbal People, it’s also the venue for Nyanda Cultural Tours’ bush food tasting experience.
Listen to ancient stories as your Aboriginal guide takes you on a journey through the wetlands, pointing out traditional tucker as you go. Then wrap up your morning with an Indigenous-inspired morning tea: wattle-seed damper baked over the campfire, served up with homemade lilly pilly jam. The pink, cherry-like fruit of the native lilly pilly is tart with a hint of cinnamon and can also be plucked and eaten straight from the tree.
Discover more of Brisbane and South East Queensland’s Indigenous past with this 5 day itinerary.
Photo by @spicershiddenvale via FB
Embrace the concept of paddock-to-plate dining with a visit to the acclaimed Homage Restaurant at Spicers’ Hidden Vale, a 12,000 acre luxury country retreat just an hour’s drive from Brisbane. Complete with its own market garden, orchard, beehives and free range farm, every ingredient is grown onsite or sourced from producers who live just down the road.
Prepare for a bush food-inspired degustation menu to make your mouth water. Highlights include lightly pickled Murray cod, kangaroo sausage and emu served with whey butter, house curd and native pepper.
Once you’ve eaten your fill, find out what goes on behind-the-scenes with a complimentary chef-led tour of the market garden, smokehouse and fermentation room.
Looking for a more hands-on experience? Head north to Port Douglas to join Kuku Yalanji man Juan Walker on his immersive Walkabout Cultural Adventures tour.
Explore the silky mudflats and mangroves of Cooya Beach as you forage for native mud mussels and other local delicacies. Prepare to get messy: you’ll need to squish down into the mud with your hands and feet to prise them free.
Once your foraging mission is accomplished, fill up on a tasty bush tucker banquet of beach lettuce, damper and the main event: freshly-steamed mud mussels that taste just like the ocean.
While still in Port Douglas, level up your hunting skills on a mud-crabbing adventure with Kuku Yalanji Cultural Habitat Tours, also based out of Cooya Beach.
Learn ancient spear-fishing techniques as you join the Walker brothers and their family on their daily hunting and gathering expedition. Then, cook up your catch beachside as the sun goes down. Take a tip from the Walkers and roast the sweet and delicate crab meat in its shell or fry with chilli vinegar for an extra punch of flavour.
Photo by @ochrerestaurant via FB
If you’ve got an adventurous palate but prefer someone else to do the cooking, head to Ochre Restaurant in Cairns for a fine dining experience with a difference. Run by chef and owner Craig Squires, this trailblazing restaurant has been celebrating bush food for more than two decades.
Expect to taste everything from kangaroo spring rolls to smoked crocodile. And don’t pass up the chance to try Ochre’s signature dish: salmon gravlax served with pepperleaf goat’s cheese and a generous scattering of native green ants. They pack a citrus-y punch that has been likened to kaffir lime and lemongrass – which is why they’re also the key ingredient in Australian Green Ant Gin, another Ochre crowd favourite.
Looking for more ways to experience Aboriginal culture in Cairns? Here are four Indigenous tours you won’t want to miss.