Winner in the Australian category for Indigenous foods at the Gourmand World Cook Book Winter Harvest awards 2020
In the final shortlist for the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, Indigenous Food category
Australia's Creative Native Cuisine is the ultimate resource for home cooks looking to use lots of Australian native ingredients in their food preparation, but also includes everyday alternative ingredients for those occasions when the native ingredients are not in season or not readily available. It includes more than 150 original recipes incorporating Australian native foods; an Australian plant food glossary that includes descriptions, illustrations, nutritional aspects, forms (dried, fresh, frozen), availability, seasonality, and uses; expanded descriptions of certain key ingredients; chef's tips and cooking notes; and substitute ingredients where needed. Many of the foods and several of the simple methods such as cooking in paperbark are based traditional Indigenous foods and techniques, which inherently respect and protect the natural environment while providing a food source. The long-term aim is that this book might contribute to the development of a sustainable and economically viable Australian industry that, most importantly, respects and includes Indigenous knowledge and culture while encouraging greater Indigenous participation in the supply chain. Australia's native foods tick all the boxes in terms of 21st-century sustenance: they are nutritious, flavorsome, and sustainable, and they also provide employment in Australia.
Includes dual measures, plus standard substitute ingredients are listed alongside every recipe (for example, spinach for warrigal spinach; mint for rivermint; sundried tomatoes for bush tomatoes). The book also includes a separate list of native/wild American ingredients that can be used in place of Australian ones. For example, American saltbush works fine as a substitute ingredient for Australian saltbush.
Industry Reviews
"Andrew Fielke is one of the most important pioneers of the use of Australian native foods in modern Australia, as a chef, restaurateur, producer and provedore. This book is another important milestone on the road to the acceptance of our wonderful native foods in the home kitchen." --Dr John Newton DCA, author and journalist and winner of the Gold Ladle for Best Food Journalist in the World Food Media Awards (2005)
