Victorian restaurants hero-ing native flavours

No other state in Australia can boast the regional dining scene of Victoria, with more chef-hatted restaurants than any other regional area. And from Brae to The Royal Mail Hotel, Oakridge Estate, The Little Green Corner and more – regional Victorian chefs are sharing a commitment to using ingredients native to Australia and Victoria.

Menus have evolved beyond lemon myrtle and bush tomatoes and now include ingredients such as riberry, wild limes, wattleseed, muntries, mountain pepper, rivermint, warrugul greens, vanilla and chocolate lillybulbs, and strawberry gum.

Indigenous Australian flavours are becoming so popular with Victorian chefs that regional farms and producers are increasingly specialising in the rare plants, herbs and produce to supply this demand. A number of producers now offer immersive experiences where visitors can learn about growing and cooking with native ingredients.

Regional native plant propagator and nursery owner Mike Edwards says that finally, after years of propagating native bush food plants in his Colac nursery with little demand he his now selling more than he ever has. This year he will be doubling the quantities he propagates for sale in 2016. While his team often plant more than 10,000 native seedlings a day, he requires particular native bush foods that are hard to obtain and require propagation.

PRODUCERS AND FARMS

Peppermint Ridge FarmPeppermint Ridge Farm is an eight hectare property nestled in bushland close to Bunyip State Park (West Gippsland) in Tynong North. Here they are passionate about growing and producing quality bush food in harmony with their unique Australian environment. Visitors can join a range of “Taste Learn See” experiences designed to excite and inspire about Australia’s unique native bush foods.

Saltbush KitchenLocated in the Eureka gardens at M.A.D.E in Ballarat, Saltbush Kitchen is a modern, beautiful space overlooking the Eureka Park Memorial gardens and lake. Saltbush Kitchen takes visitors on an Australian food adventure, with simple tasty foods that feature Australian bush foods and local fare. They also stock an impressive selection of Australian bush food spices and gourmet foods.

Forgotten FoodsThe ethos at Forgotten Foods in Kinglake is about putting Australian native flavours back on the plate. This Kinglake based nursery offers an ever growing range of bushfood plants for sale. In addition to native fruit, vegetables, herbs and spices, they are also developing their own range of fresh bushfood produce. They also run classes on growing and cooking with bushfoods.

Rhyll Trout and Bush Tucker FarmThe Rhyll Trout and Bush Tucker Farm, on Phillip Island, is home to a Bush Tucker Trail which winds through three hectares of native food crops, producing numerous edible fruits, berries, seeds, leaves and flowers. Visitors can join a guided tour to learn about the edible qualities from the vast array of Bush Tucker crops being grown and learn about Aboriginal culture along the way. The onsite café offers beautifully prepared home-style meals featuring the farm’s own rainbow trout, native bush foods and organic eggs.

Special Effects NurserySpecial Effects Nursery, in Colac, produce plants that inspire life and health. As well as offering trees for farms and landscaping plants, they specialise in bush tucker or wild food plants for the home gardener and commercial growers. Edible plants on offer include river mint, mountain pepper, round leaf mint, balm mint, lemon myrtle and strawberry gum.

The Diggers ClubHeronswood Gardens in Dromana are home of The Diggers Club, showcasing the best flowers and plants for Australian conditions. The Diggers Garden Shop has a wide range of plants on offer and specialises in Diggers signature heirloom seeds, cottage flowers and edible plants. Visitors can dine at Heronswood restaurant, located within the historic Heronswood House, choosing from dishes which feature vegetables and fruits grown in the gardens.

RESTAURANTS & CAFES

BraeAt Brae in Birregurra, award winning chef Dan Hunter serves up contemporary cuisine with a commitment to seasonal produce, with his daily menu reflecting the best of the hillside property’s extensive organic gardens. Each day, the highest quality ingredients are carefully selected from Brae’s on-site organic fruit and vegetable garden, local farms and ethical, sustainable producers from Victoria and beyond. Native ingredients on the menu include coastal bone fruit – foraged from the coast, ruby salt bush, muntries, quandongs, fingerlime and pepperberry, plus local and sustainably caught black lip abalone, southern rock lobster and sea urchin.

Royal Mail HotelDunkeld’s Royal Mail Hotel is home to a highly acclaimed Dining Room which offers nature-based cuisine focusing on the highest quality and locally sourced produce. Awarded Two Chef Hats by the Age Good Food Guide 2015, the kitchen is overseen by executive Chef Robin Wickens. On a daily basis, Robin and his team of chefs harvest produce that inspires that day’s menu from the extensive organic kitchen garden. The Hotel’s orchards and olive groves provide further seasonal produce

All guests staying at the Royal Mail Hotel are offered a complimentary Kitchen Garden Tour with one of the restaurants chefs. The tour demonstrates the organic practices employed by the Hotel and how the daily harvest influences the menu. The driving philosophy behind the Kitchen Garden is that food should be produced using organic principles with as little impact to the earth as possible. The garden aims to provide produce such as organic heirloom vegetables, herbs, edible flowers, fruit and nuts all year round.

Bushtucker CaféBushfoods Café, at Hall’s Gap’s Brambuk – The National Park & Cultural Centre, has a menu which combines traditional aboriginal food with the more contemporary menus of today. On offer are dishes made with kangaroo, emu and crocodile. Visitors can also join a guided walk around the native gardens and wetlands at Brambuk to discover the diversity of plants of Gariwerd (the Grampians) and learn their traditional indigenous uses.

Oakridge WinesThe Restaurant at Oakridge Wines boasts a menu which utilises ingredients foraged in the surrounding Yarra Valley. With every turn of the season, executive chef Matt Stone adapts the menu to create a selection of dishes based on the availability and quality of surrounding produce. Native ingredients found on the menu include wattleseed, mountain pepper, muntries, fingerlime, Davidson plum, cinnamon myrtle, riberry and sunrise lime. These ingredients, which are unique in flavour, are all used to substitute European and introduced ingredients.

Little Green CornerLittle Green Corner in Lt. Ryrie Street Geelong stands for three core values: simplicity, thinking and acting locally, and operating sustainably. Housed inside one of Geelong’s oldest buildings, Little Green Corner boasts a sustainable, seasonal menu, which is intentionally small, considered and connected to the produce of the Geelong region. Guests can expect to find the best of tomatoes in summer, foraged mushrooms in winter and asparagus in spring. They also offer regular foraging excursions within the Geelong region (Surf Coast, The Bellarine, the Otways) where participants can find edible ingredients such as ocean vegetable, weeds, mushrooms and more.

GrumbleTummsGrumbleTumms is a mobile food truck and gourmet catering kitchen based out of Geelong. They specialise in Aussie Bush Tucker and their menu features items such as crocodile, emu, kangaroo, bush herbs and more.

EXPERIENCES

Throughout Victoria there are a number of immersive experiences available for those wanting to learn how to recognize edible native ingredients, how to grow them and how to cook with them.

Gippsland Food Adventures aim to showcase the Gippsland region’s food, people and country in a fun, relaxed and informative way. It is operated by local farmers who want to share their passion for farming, food and wine to create innovative experiential adventures. They offer small group tours (4-10 people), where guests can meet the producers, see their farms, hear their stories and feel the passion that goes into their produce.

Also in Gippsland, Peppermint Ridge Farm hosts a bush food cooking class which demonstrates how easy it is to incorporate the sensational flavours of Australia’s native foods such as lemon and anise myrtle, strawberry gum, mountain pepper and native mints into home cuisine.

Forgotten Foods, in Kinglake, also offer an Australian Flavours class where participants are taught about the history of Australian bushfoods, how they can grow their own and how to use them in everyday cooking.

At Rhyll Trout and Bush Tucker Farm, on Phillip Island, visitors can join a guided tour to learn about the edible qualities from the vast array of Bush Tucker crops being grown.

Or at Brambuk – The National Park and Cultural Centre, in Halls Gap, visitors can join a guided walk around the native gardens and wetlands of the Centre to discover the diversity of plants of Gariwerd and learn their traditional indigenous uses.

Further south in the Grampians, all guests at the Royal Mail Hotel are offered a free Kitchen Garden experience with one of the restaurants chefs. The tour demonstrates the organic practices employed by the Hotel and how the daily harvest influences the menu.

Visitors interested in foraging can join a tour with Little Green Corner who offer monthly foraging excursions around the Surf Coast, The Bellarine and the Otways. On these tours participants learn how to spot edible ingredients such as ocean vegetable, weeds, mushrooms and more.