Author(s): SUNK STEVE

Food

Some of Australia's rare and protected animals are the subject of a new, beautifully-photographed book that dares to cook up dishes that include dugong, turtle, stingray and goanna. Walkabout Chefs is a radical new publication from the Northern Territory that looks at Aboriginal culture, through food. Compiled by Top End chef Steve Sunk from Charles Darwin University and Aboriginal people from northern and central Australia, it shows what marvellous dishes can be created from our native species. This book breaks all the rules. Dishes such as Macassan-style dugong curry, shellfish salad with turtle eggs, sea turtle panfried in wild pepper berries and a meat pie that includes kangaroo, emu and bush turkey. Walkabout Chefs highlights Aboriginal culture in a positive way and explains much about Australia's indigenous people, their traditions, attitudes to country and their lives today. As only Aboriginal people are permitted to legally consume native species, the book includes a list of alternative ingredients. This insight into Aboriginal culture through food is an excellent way of informing people about one of the world's oldest and richest cultures.