Food News

Grazing Down the Lachlan

Chef O Tama Carey gives us the lowdown on a one-off community feast paying tribute to land and country.

By O Tama Carey
"Trailmix" featuring dehydrated kangaroo, fried saltbush, figs and more.
Chef O Tama Carey gives us the lowdown on a one-off community feast paying tribute to land and country.
Grazing Down the Lachlan is a one-day moveable feast taking place on a spring afternoon in Forbes, in the central west of New South Wales. It's a collaboration between myself and Mathew Lindsay of Ester.
We've put together a grazing menu of seven courses to enjoy (drink in hand) during a meandering ramble along the banks of the Lachlan River. Our lunch follows in the tracks of a travelling stock route. These are the various trails that run throughout the Australian bush - they were a place for drovers to run cattle, and before European settlement these same paths may have been part of Aboriginal songlines, too. We want to reflect this intertwining of Aboriginal and early-settler history, so our menu will feature lots of local and native ingredients.
The food, for the most part, will be a surprise - however, the first snack on our stroll will be our version of a trailmix: dehydrated kangaroo with fried saltbush, hazelnuts, figs and kurrajong seeds seasoned with pepperberry. I'm also excited by our jumbuck sanga - we braise and caramelise mutton over an open fire on the trail, then glaze it with a quandong and saltbush sauce.
The event is raising money for an outdoor art trail to run between Forbes and Condobolin, known as the "long paddock". It's going to be a delicious and reflective day out. We hope to see you there.
Grazing Down the Lachlan, 23 September, tickets $150 from grazingdownthelachlan.com.
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