T
here’s an Italian side to
my family and a Scottish side.
I enjoy the simple act of eating
boiled potatoes and mince
because I understand the Scottish
culture. Likewise, I understand the whole
ruckus that is a family meal for Italians.
I understand why there’s spaghetti on
the walls and why people are always
yelling. This has always been the missing
link for me in Australia. If you don’t
understand the culture of Australian
people, and the traditional owners of this
land, how can you begin to understand
the food? And what it might become?The first time I visited Australia was
for a year in 1994. At the time, I had
been cooking in dark and rainy London,
working the three-star grind, 20 hours a
day. I’d seen advertisements for Australia
and it looked amazing. The beaches and
blue sky – it seemed like a holiday every
day. I came out for 12 months and
worked at Forty One in Sydney. Wherever
I’d worked before – including during my
apprenticeship – we used the food around
us. Back in Scotland when I was an
apprentice at Turnberry hotel, my chef
de partie taught me how to stalk deer in
the forest, for example. He showed meAustralia’s indigenous ingredients belong
on shelves and in our everyday lives, says Orana
chef JOCK ZONFRILLO. How to get there?
A
new
NATIVE