W
hat even is Australian food? Healthy,
hip and possibly with a smashed
avocado on top? It is true that since
I opened Bills Darlinghurst in
Sydney in 1993, a joyfully casual sort of Australian
food has backpacked its way across the world, being
welcomed wherever and bringing a touch of Sydney
sunshine to restaurant countertops from New York
to Tokyo, Rome to Seoul.
This adoration all feels very new – Australia was
long an underdog in global culinary rankings. When
I was growing up, we went quietly unnoticed beyond
our sandstone shores and isolating oceans. I imagine
for anyone outside Australia who bothered to think
about it, our cooking was generally considered to
be like British food, only worse.
However, because of some lucky stars and
gratifying quirks of fate, the world seems to have
embraced the Aussie way of eating and fallen in
love with the all-day café.
I have always believed Australia serves the sort
of food that brings peopletogether– overcoffee,
over communal tables, overall-daymenus– and
makes us all feel good. AndI don’tthinkit’sjust
the food – it’s the way weeatandserveit.There’s
always been a casualnessaboutAustralianeating.
We’ve never dressed fordinner.Themajorityofus
are sprinkled in towns andcitiesaroundthecoast
of this great wide land, ourclimatemeansweget
to eat outside a lot of thetime,andwedon’tneed
to be wealthy to enjoy afamilypicnicbythebeach
or a barbecue in a park withfriends.
Being asked to writea bookaboutAustralian
food, 27 years since thefirstBillsopened,and 20
years after the publicationofmyfirstbook,Sydney
Food, has made me taketimetothinkaboutwhat
were those magical elementsthatclickedallthose
years ago in a tiny, sunny,Sydneycornerstore.
And, in choosing the recipestofeature,howmy
own particular menu of“Australianfood”came
about, and then evolved.Coconut rice
pudding with red
papaya, raspberry
and pistachioAbove right: Bill Granger on
the steps of Bills Darlinghurst.94 GOURMET TRAVELLER