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Where we’ve been

old friends – macadamia nuts, say, and

wattleseed – but others are harder to

access or less well understood.

It’s something we do every month,

but in this issue in particular you’ll find

plenty of ideas for cooking with native

ingredients, from barbecued lamb with a

saltbush rub to oysters with a finger-lime

mignonette. If we can play even a small

role in creating a greater demand for

and understanding of indigenous

ingredients, if our recipes compel you

to ask your grocer to stock them, order

some online or plant some in your own

backyard, then it’s been a good January.

Enjoy this taste of Australia,

Kendall Hill, senior writer;

La Camargue, France

I visited Les Marquises ranch in the

Camargue where “cowboys” (gardians in

Provençal) still raise horses that are dark

in adolescence, white in adulthood, but

beautiful at any age.@misterkendallhill

Harriet Davidson, editorial

coordinator; Mollymook, NSW

Best favour asked of me this year? To

drive my parents’ MG up the South Coast

from Mollymook to Sydney. Pit stops

included vineyards with live music and

white-sand [email protected]

Emma Breheny, digital writer;

Margaret River, WA

I experienced the whirlwind of Margaret

River Gourmet Escape in November,

meeting wine writer Jancis Robinson and

chef Alex Atala, taking in the scenery

(from a helicopter, no less) and, of course,

eating lots of marron. @breheny

EMAIL [email protected] // FOLLOW @GOURMETTRAVELLER // ONLINE GOURMETTRAVELLER.COM.AU

I

n a small pocket of Melbourne,

26 January is no longer Australia

Day. The City of Yarra Council

voted that in 2018 it would

replace the traditional celebrations with

an event marking the loss of Aboriginal

and Torres Strait Islander culture.

I’m on board with Yarra. It feels

spectacularly tone deaf to celebrate a day

that marks the loss of rights, land, family

and culture for the traditional owners

of our land. There’s plenty to celebrate

about being Australian, but as many of

us immigrants have now realised, it’s

just not the right day to do it.

As the Change the Date campaign

gains momentum, January now tends to

kick off debate about nationalism and

nationhood and the appropriate way

to mark the arrival of Captain Arthur

Phillip on the shores of Sydney Cove.

As a food and travel magazine

Gourmet Traveller isn’t isolated from the

debate – everybody and every business

can contribute to elevating the position

of Indigenous culture in its own way.

Like many of our favourite

chefs, including Clayton Donovan,

Jock Zonfrillo and Kylie Kwong, we’re

passionate about increasing the demand

for, interest in and understanding of

native ingredients. Some we know like

Barbecued oysters

with finger-lime

mignonette

p 94

Editor’s letter

PHOTOGRAPHY ALANA LANDSBERRY (PORTRAIT)

GOURMET TRAVELLER 11