Destination Flavour Down Under

Adam is in the “pearling capital” of Australia, Broome, looking forward to heading up to Cape Leveque, the northernmost tip of Western Australia. Many think of Far North Queensland as Australia’s tropical food hotspot, but he discovers that tropical food is also found in many Broome backyards, thanks to Asian pearlers. A local Indigenous jam producer takes Adam to Cape Leveque, where he learns the importance of self-sufficiency in small Aboriginal communities, and sees that many businesses are putting community and conservation first. Adam collects wild gubinge, also known as Kakadu plum, mango and tamarind and makes ice-cream for the school kids. He is taken mudcrabbing at low tide along inland river beds, then investigates sustainable methods at a trochus hatchery, and plays deckhand on a pearling boat, tasting fresh pearl meat. Adam cooks up chilli, tamarind and mango mud crab at a magnificent beach where red earth meets pure white sand and turquoise waters.

Western Australia’s wheatbelt is abundant with ancient crops, and on this journey from the outskirts of Perth to Narembeen, Adam meets many hardworking farmers who have based their livelihoods on unusual ingredients. It’s grape-picking season in the Swan Valley and, while visiting a couple whose Croatian ancestors have been growing table grapes for centuries, Adam whips up a grape and rosemary focaccia. He then visits a pistachio orchard nearby. Peaches are also in season, so Adam lends a hand in a fruitpacking shed and makes an Italian-inspired dessert with this fleshy stone fruit. He next meets a wheat-turned-quinoa farmer and learns of the challenges of making the South American crop work. After meeting a farmer running an Egyptian breed of sheep, Adam creates a Middle Eastern lamb masterpiece.

Back in his home state of South Australia, Adam revisits the Eyre Peninsular where he spent many summer holidays of his youth. Starting in the southern Flinders Ranges, he makes his way south from Port Augusta towards Port Lincoln, stopping in at his father’s old hometown of Whyalla for a trip down memory lane. He catches up with Coffin Bay oyster farmer Lester Marshall, and local fisherman Neil Evans. After reeling in the famed King George whiting, he takes his catch inland to the snow-white landscape of a salt lake where he cooks up his version of classic fish and chips using King George whiting.

Expect the unexpected on this tour of the Northern Territory. Starting off at the heart of Australia, Uluru, Adam visits a Vietnamese garden oasis in the middle of the desert, calls in on a butcher who fishes for perch in his backyard, and meets an outback chef who makes him a special set of knives with the steel forge in his backyard. He finds the prospect of butchering a crocodile quite confronting during this adventure, but soon embraces the task and scores a fillet to use in a prawn and crocodile laksa. During a day out on the magnificent waters of Nitmiluk Gorge, Adam nets a barramundi, which he cooks up at a breathtaking spot in front of Edith Falls.

It is one tropical surprise after another when Adam takes to the road around Rockhampton, beginning his trip at a petrol station that’s known for making the best crab sandwiches in the state. He meets a fourth-generation farmer producing ginger and watermelon, visits a couple who farm the macadamias they use in their ice-cream, and stops in at the famous Eumundi Markets, where he picks up ingredients for a magnificent golden pavlova. After picking up a few of the region’s famous Moreton Bay bugs, Adam hops back in his 4WD and catches the ferry over to Moreton Island for some coastline cruising and cooking.

Adam starts his tour at Stuarts Point, where he sees the first commercial lemon myrtle farm in Australia. Dropping by Yamba at the mouth of the Clarence River, Adam sources the famous Yamba prawns straight from the trawler. Heading further north to Byron Bay, Adam visits a must-see produce attraction, the Mullumbimby farmers’ market. Finally, he cooks up his inspiration from this culinary road trip – a Pacific paella at the spectacular Byron Bay lighthouse, situated on Australia’s most easterly point.