0:00:02 > 0:00:07Six cooks, six countries, six incredible journeys.
0:00:07 > 0:00:08SHE CHEERS
0:00:08 > 0:00:10HE SCREAMS
0:00:10 > 0:00:12Stepping outside their comfort zones...
0:00:14 > 0:00:17It's not for the faint-hearted, for sure.
0:00:17 > 0:00:19..our cooks will travel far and wide...
0:00:20 > 0:00:23Route 7, all the way.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26..to find some of the most exciting food on the planet.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31If you're back in the UK you get tandoori chicken nothing like this.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35It's beautiful. The best food I've had in Egypt.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38It's pure, it's got heritage. It's got love in it, you know?
0:00:38 > 0:00:40They'll go off the beaten track...
0:00:42 > 0:00:44Crocodile sausages.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46..meeting extraordinary people...
0:00:48 > 0:00:51..exploring ways of life unchanged for centuries.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55No electric blenders in the jungle. Have to do everything by hand.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00Take your life into your own hands, we're on the road now.
0:01:00 > 0:01:04As they travel they'll see how the language of food transcends
0:01:04 > 0:01:05cultural differences...
0:01:05 > 0:01:07I've never huffed on a cheese before.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09..and a world away from home.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11This is why I love Australia.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14There's no excuse for a bad pie in Australia.
0:01:14 > 0:01:16This is the beginning, where do we end?
0:01:16 > 0:01:20They'll learn lessons that will change the way we cook forever.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24I've been cooking a barbecue wrongly all my life.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26Wow!
0:01:32 > 0:01:35This time it's Rick Stein down under.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37I'm in love with abalone.
0:01:37 > 0:01:42- Still prawns on the barbie... - Bit of Pernod, olive oil, garlic.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45..but Australian tastes are shifting.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48I sense there's a seismic change happening.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51- Rick's going south...- You know where you have to go?- Where?
0:01:51 > 0:01:53..to Tasmania.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56It's the wild foodie frontier.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00- That's gorgeous. Wow! - An island of new ideas...
0:02:00 > 0:02:02This is in a class of its own.
0:02:02 > 0:02:04..and old-fashioned hospitality.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08"If you choose to steal my produce I hope you choke."
0:02:21 > 0:02:26In 1966 I was 19 years old, and in a bad place.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31I wanted to be in a good one, somewhere sunny, optimistic,
0:02:31 > 0:02:34somewhere nobody could have the blues.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36And this was it, Australia.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41I love this beach.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45When I first came to Australia when my father died,
0:02:45 > 0:02:47tragically, he committed suicide,
0:02:47 > 0:02:53and I was completely sort of pent up and not sure what I wanted to do.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56And I thought, "I know, I'll run away to Australia."
0:02:57 > 0:03:02And when I came here, one of the things is people associate me
0:03:02 > 0:03:06with the Atlantic and the fish and all that.
0:03:06 > 0:03:10But when I came here I was just amazed about the variety
0:03:10 > 0:03:12of fish, the quantity of fish.
0:03:12 > 0:03:16How you could go fishing anywhere and just catch fish, big ones,
0:03:16 > 0:03:20colourful ones, the sort of fish I'd never seen before.
0:03:20 > 0:03:25And I think it was that and cooking fish that almost kick-started me
0:03:25 > 0:03:27off to opening a restaurant back in Britain.
0:03:29 > 0:03:3250 years on I have a home in a small town called Mollymook,
0:03:32 > 0:03:34south of Sydney.
0:03:37 > 0:03:42Mollymook is a sleepy, salty place, home to people who love to be near
0:03:42 > 0:03:46the water and a resort for families who want a bucket and spade holiday.
0:03:47 > 0:03:52It's a bit like Padstow without the advantages of rain and gales
0:03:52 > 0:03:56and fog, but with the splendid advantage of having a fish
0:03:56 > 0:03:59restaurant in it, owned by me.
0:03:59 > 0:04:00Morning.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03'This is my Australian home from home.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06'The number one topic of conversation is fish.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10'What's fresh and what's trending out in the dining room.
0:04:12 > 0:04:14'Knowing what people are asking for is how
0:04:14 > 0:04:16'you monitor changing tastes.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20'Over the years I've seen Aussie food fashions come and go.
0:04:20 > 0:04:25'Old French, slow food, fast food, Pacific Rim, Asian fusion
0:04:25 > 0:04:27'and of course nouvelle cuisine.'
0:04:28 > 0:04:32I've been coming here for 50 years.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35Wow! But in that time it's just been amazing how it's changed
0:04:35 > 0:04:38because when I first came here the food was what I'd
0:04:38 > 0:04:41describe as pies and pints.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43Or more correctly pies and schooners.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46It was really simple sort of British-based food.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49But everything's changed and it keeps changing.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51And you've just got to keep up with it.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54As a restaurateur you have to, otherwise people don't come
0:04:54 > 0:04:57to your restaurant. So I've got to know what's happening.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01And I sense there's another seismic change happening again.
0:05:03 > 0:05:04My house.
0:05:04 > 0:05:08Sundown. A little party - because I've just had another birthday.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13My guests are foodie friends and neighbours.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15Everybody needs good neighbours.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21They've always looked to the rest of the world for culinary
0:05:21 > 0:05:25inspiration, but I think the feeding habits of Homo Australis
0:05:25 > 0:05:28are changing. Going local, that's my instinct.
0:05:30 > 0:05:32I think I've got everything right.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35I think I know what Aussies like at a good barbecue, but you can
0:05:35 > 0:05:37never be too sure because things are moving all the time.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41And that's part of why I want to do this barbecue.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44Just to ask a few people who I know
0:05:44 > 0:05:48know a lot about food in Australia, where we're going next.
0:05:49 > 0:05:54'The humble Australian barbie is a good example of how things change.
0:05:54 > 0:05:59'Blokes used to stand about talking sport and incinerating sausages.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02'Now they want to know what's in your marinade.'
0:06:02 > 0:06:07It's just a little bit of fennel, bit of Pernod, olive oil, garlic.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11'Here's another change.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14'Almost all this food came from within 100 miles.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17'Even ten years ago lots of it would have been imported.'
0:06:19 > 0:06:21Ding-ding! Can we just start eating cos it's getting cold.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25I gave it a few minutes for the food and
0:06:25 > 0:06:31the wine to take effect, and then I began by talking to Helen Patience.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33She grew up on tinned spaghetti.
0:06:33 > 0:06:37These days she's all sun-dried tomato.
0:06:37 > 0:06:39- We're so lucky here.- I know.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42I think our appetite is becoming more sophisticated.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46We used to be more like steak and sausages
0:06:46 > 0:06:49and all that basic food but now the Australian food's fantastic.
0:06:49 > 0:06:53We spent the last 15 years searching for an Australian cuisine
0:06:53 > 0:06:56and there isn't one and we're happy with that now.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00All there is now is the best produce where we can add all those
0:07:00 > 0:07:04flavours from around the world and make it work.
0:07:04 > 0:07:06You are so right, Simon.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09We can grow everything from Mediterranean to cold climate
0:07:09 > 0:07:12to tropical. We've got everything.
0:07:12 > 0:07:14Why would you want to cook anywhere else?
0:07:14 > 0:07:16To look at Australia as a whole the climate makes all
0:07:16 > 0:07:18the difference, doesn't it?
0:07:18 > 0:07:21You've got to get down to Tasmania. Apparently that's where it's at.
0:07:21 > 0:07:23'I've heard this before.
0:07:23 > 0:07:28'The island of Tasmania is the new go-to place for wonderful produce.'
0:07:28 > 0:07:32- You know where you have to go? - Where?- Tassie.
0:07:32 > 0:07:36Everybody keeps telling me that. Why, what's so special about it?
0:07:36 > 0:07:41There's no pollution. So you've got a pristine environment.
0:07:41 > 0:07:45Some of the best-tasting apricots are coming out of Tassie right now.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47Fishing, beautiful.
0:07:47 > 0:07:52Listening to those people, they're really into local produce.
0:07:52 > 0:07:57I'm so interested in what they had to say about Tasmania
0:07:57 > 0:08:02because I think they see Tasmania as being this almost mystical island
0:08:02 > 0:08:05with the best produce anywhere in Australia.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08# And if I should become a stranger
0:08:08 > 0:08:12# You know that it would make me more than sad. #
0:08:12 > 0:08:15'So, I'm going to have to go to Tasmania.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18'I've only been there once before, which is possibly
0:08:18 > 0:08:20'once more than most Australians.
0:08:20 > 0:08:24'It's always been a backwater, until now.'
0:08:32 > 0:08:36But my culinary journey has to start in Sydney where all foodie fads
0:08:36 > 0:08:38and fashions kick off.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41If there are seismic changes due,
0:08:41 > 0:08:44Sydney's where I'll feel the earth move.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51From Mollymook it takes about 3.5 hours to get to Sydney,
0:08:51 > 0:08:54a drive of 200 miles.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57It's also a 50-year step back in my own story,
0:08:57 > 0:09:02the place where I first got off the boat, in 1966.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06In the '60s I was incredibly influenced by rock'n'roll.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10And rather more American rock'n'roll than British.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13Obviously, the Beatles and the Stones I was really keen on.
0:09:15 > 0:09:20But in the mid-'60s I started to get into surfing music.
0:09:20 > 0:09:22And particularly the Beach Boys.
0:09:22 > 0:09:27And about that time the local council in Cornwall started
0:09:27 > 0:09:30employing Australian lifeguards.
0:09:30 > 0:09:35And I was very taken with those Australians.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38They were so lean and tanned.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41And they spoke of the Beach Boys.
0:09:41 > 0:09:46And they spoke of beautiful Australian, sun-tanned girls.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49So I didn't head for California. I headed for Australia.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56Back then, Australia seemed to be a place where anything was possible,
0:09:56 > 0:09:59and that was partly because of the attitude of the people.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01They were extremely friendly.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06'An hour into my journey, a chance to see
0:10:06 > 0:10:09'if what Australians call mate-ship is still as strong today.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14'In the '80s this all-in-it-together attitude
0:10:14 > 0:10:17'led to the creation of the Driver Reviver,
0:10:17 > 0:10:20'saving lives with free tea and biscuits.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22'It's also a bastion
0:10:22 > 0:10:28'of unreconstructed, but possibly reconstituted, Aussie tucker.'
0:10:28 > 0:10:31The great contribution to world cuisine,
0:10:31 > 0:10:32the Australian meat pie.
0:10:34 > 0:10:35- Hello.- Hello.
0:10:37 > 0:10:41- What can I get you?- I'd quite like a cup of tea, if it's possible.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43Cup of tea.
0:10:43 > 0:10:48- You haven't got any pies, have you? - Meat pie?- Yeah, I'd love one.
0:10:50 > 0:10:54I'm very impressed with this. Do you do this every day?
0:10:54 > 0:10:57Only during the summer we do it at the weekends.
0:10:57 > 0:11:03This is a government-sponsored idea to get people to rest.
0:11:03 > 0:11:08I'm getting on a bit. I sometimes get a bit sleepy when I'm driving.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12That's a safety thing. You should stop every couple of hours.
0:11:12 > 0:11:17- Want some sauce?- I'd love to... Oh, God! Brilliant.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21You can wear that. Good Aussie sauce.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24I've always slightly wondered what's in them, though.
0:11:24 > 0:11:28- You don't think about it.- You don't. - Don't ask questions.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31Roadkill, kangaroo, all that sort of thing.
0:11:32 > 0:11:36I'd call this Aussie meat pie calibration.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39Cos I can remember these when I first arrived in the '60s.
0:11:39 > 0:11:40So this is one end.
0:11:40 > 0:11:44This is a way of saying this is where we start with Aussie food
0:11:44 > 0:11:45and where do we end?
0:11:45 > 0:11:48This is the beginning, where do we end?
0:11:48 > 0:11:50This is the primeval Aussie food.
0:11:52 > 0:11:54So...
0:12:00 > 0:12:02Sydney's changed a lot in my time.
0:12:02 > 0:12:07Today it feels comfortably middle-aged, but back in 1967
0:12:07 > 0:12:11it seemed very young - even the Opera House was under ten.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17The ship I arrived on docked at a wharf that's now a trendy
0:12:17 > 0:12:18boardwalk full of restaurants.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22Food wasn't fashion, it was fuel.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26And the local food culture was an import - like me.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31After that initial visit I then started coming here again and again.
0:12:31 > 0:12:32I couldn't stay away.
0:12:32 > 0:12:37And what I did notice right back from the early '80s was
0:12:37 > 0:12:41the growth of, first of all Italian, Greek, but then...
0:12:41 > 0:12:42There was
0:12:42 > 0:12:45always Chinese, but Vietnamese, really good Thai restaurants.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49And the great thing was they were all easy to get at.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51You could walk to really good food.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58Today I'm a pillar of the community, but at 19,
0:12:58 > 0:13:02when I first arrived here in Sydney, I was all bum-fluff and backpack.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06I'd had a bit of catering training in London,
0:13:06 > 0:13:09but I wasn't here to cook - I wanted adventure.
0:13:16 > 0:13:20'I took off for the interior of Australia, looking for work
0:13:20 > 0:13:24'as a labourer and looking for love with sun-tanned girls.
0:13:24 > 0:13:29'It was when I came back here, to Sydney's Kirribilli neighbourhood,
0:13:29 > 0:13:34'that I started cooking in a student flat in a grotty back street.'
0:13:38 > 0:13:41I don't think students can afford to live round here now.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47This is it.
0:13:47 > 0:13:51This is the flat. Ground floor, that was my room.
0:13:51 > 0:13:52There's the door.
0:13:53 > 0:13:57We used to have fantastic parties in there, just unbelievable.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59I remember once I managed to get this nurse from the
0:13:59 > 0:14:04Royal North Shore Hospital into bed but I was so drunk I fell asleep.
0:14:04 > 0:14:08And I woke up in the morning and one of my friends was banging
0:14:08 > 0:14:11on this door and I told him what had happened,
0:14:11 > 0:14:15how I'd just fallen asleep and he said, "You're a true Aussie now."
0:14:19 > 0:14:24It's not much of a view but it's pretty iconic, the view.
0:14:24 > 0:14:25See the old ship passing by.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32I mean, it's sure bringing back some memories for me, I must say.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34Very happy to be back here.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41There's a really good fishmonger up in Kirribilli.
0:14:41 > 0:14:45And I started cooking for my flatmates and it was sort of that.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48They said, "You really can cook." I only used to do grilled fish
0:14:48 > 0:14:52and things like pasta and bolognese sauce and that.
0:14:52 > 0:14:58But it was in this flat, 97 Kirribilli Avenue, that I began to
0:14:58 > 0:15:03realise I could cook and have people enthused about what I was doing.
0:15:06 > 0:15:07Back then,
0:15:07 > 0:15:11despite being surrounded by bounteous seas with gorgeous fish,
0:15:11 > 0:15:14most Australians just wanted meat and two veg.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17The Sydney fish market was a bunch of sheds
0:15:17 > 0:15:20full of blokes off the boats haggling with dealers.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24Now, it's a magnet for Sydney's foodies.
0:15:26 > 0:15:30And what is great about this market is it's absolutely packed
0:15:30 > 0:15:34with people who can see how wonderful Australian fish is and
0:15:34 > 0:15:39when I first came here and saw fish like this I was just blown away.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43Because fish is so theatrical anyway. I love fish.
0:15:45 > 0:15:52Incredibly, 70% of the fish eaten in Australia is imported.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55But most of these fish are from native waters.
0:15:55 > 0:15:59They're costlier, but look at the crowds they draw -
0:15:59 > 0:16:02exactly the evidence I'm looking for,
0:16:02 > 0:16:04for a growing interest in eating Australian.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11- Hi.- Hey, mate. How are you? - Very well.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15Could I have a small trevalla? Blue-eye, they're normally called.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18- Certainly. Just one side? - Yeah, that would be great.
0:16:18 > 0:16:20And I'd like a garfish.
0:16:21 > 0:16:23Maybe I'll have a small sand whiting.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26A little bit of a fillet of a scorpionfish.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29- Just one side of that? - That would be lovely.- No problem.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31I will have a flounder, as well.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35I think that for me is the best flatfish over here.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38I'm like they say in Aussie, a kid in the lolly shop.
0:16:44 > 0:16:48Understandably, a lot of people can't wait to get eating.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51So they'll cook your fish for you on the spot, from net to pan
0:16:51 > 0:16:53to plate.
0:16:57 > 0:16:58I'm looking forward to this.
0:16:58 > 0:17:00I must say, I've probably ordered a bit too much
0:17:00 > 0:17:04but I just wanted to try it and... Oh, my gosh.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07I certainly have ordered... And a bit on the side too.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12Oh, good lord! I think I'll start with the garfish.
0:17:15 > 0:17:19Fish is wonderful. Next, my favourite fish.
0:17:20 > 0:17:22And this is sand whiting.
0:17:23 > 0:17:25Not a bit like our own whiting.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28Really, really good flavour.
0:17:28 > 0:17:30And this is the blue-eye.
0:17:34 > 0:17:36That is good flavour. Now then...
0:17:38 > 0:17:44..I often say that in Australia you don't get really good flatfish.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46But I would make an exception for this which is called
0:17:46 > 0:17:49the yellowbelly flounder.
0:17:49 > 0:17:51'This may look like gluttony,
0:17:51 > 0:17:54'but the crew will devour what I leave like gannets.'
0:17:55 > 0:17:57Ah!
0:17:59 > 0:18:01The Aussie seas are a fishmonger's delight,
0:18:01 > 0:18:04and the land is one big meat department.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09Overrun by kangaroos, infested with rabbits,
0:18:09 > 0:18:11and besieged by wild camels.
0:18:15 > 0:18:19'Might a nation that's now discovering its fish
0:18:19 > 0:18:22'be persuaded to try these challenging meats as well?'
0:18:24 > 0:18:28Have you got any Australian meat like kangaroo or anything?
0:18:28 > 0:18:31- It's over there.- Over there. Thank you very much.
0:18:31 > 0:18:33'Seems they might.'
0:18:34 > 0:18:39Here we are. So you've got kangaroo mince, kangaroo burgers.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42Wow, that is really amazing, camel burgers.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44Crocodile sausages.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48Tail steak. "Unleash your wild side," it says.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50Oh, my God.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52'Heston's got his sausage in first.'
0:18:52 > 0:18:53Look at this.
0:18:54 > 0:19:00'But of course he's ahead of the game with wild fruits and berries.'
0:19:00 > 0:19:04He's got bush tomato in there, which are very tasty, I must say.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07And there he's got pepperberry.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09'Heston's offering his services
0:19:09 > 0:19:12'at the supermarket, but what about other top chefs?
0:19:12 > 0:19:15'Is there bush tucker on Sydney's poshest menus?
0:19:15 > 0:19:19'Rockpool is the creation of one of Australia's greatest chefs,
0:19:19 > 0:19:21Neil Perry.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24'When the food press started writing
0:19:24 > 0:19:26'about food found or foraged in the wild,
0:19:26 > 0:19:29'like me, Neil's head chef Phil Wood took notice.
0:19:32 > 0:19:34'When I called him up, he said
0:19:34 > 0:19:38'native plants weren't as easy as your common or garden veg.'
0:19:38 > 0:19:42If anybody's doing cutting-edge cooking it would be you
0:19:42 > 0:19:44and are you using any of these ingredients?
0:19:44 > 0:19:46It's quite challenging to use them, to be honest.
0:19:46 > 0:19:49The biggest thing is the seasons are so short.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51With these little fruits and vegetables maybe I'll get
0:19:51 > 0:19:54it for three weeks or two weeks and then you'll never see it again,
0:19:54 > 0:19:55until the next year.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58So by the time you've worked out what to do with it, it's gone.
0:19:59 > 0:20:01And you've got to wait a whole another year
0:20:01 > 0:20:02and you may have moved on.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05So, you know, they're hard to use.
0:20:05 > 0:20:06What's this one?
0:20:06 > 0:20:09That's actually got quite a pretty name, lemon aspen. So...
0:20:09 > 0:20:10Oh, that is really nice.
0:20:10 > 0:20:12It is, it's really bright, acidic,
0:20:12 > 0:20:16and it's got this lovely sort of fresh lemon flavour.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19But cooked, just absolutely terrible. Horrible.
0:20:19 > 0:20:21And this one, then...
0:20:21 > 0:20:22Yeah, it's a riberry.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25- So...- Not quite so good.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28Not quite so good, yeah. Sort of a little bit eucalyptus.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30- Yeah, yeah.- Yeah, and quite acidic.
0:20:30 > 0:20:31And these, then?
0:20:31 > 0:20:34These are my favourite, actually. They're muntrees.
0:20:34 > 0:20:35- Muntrees?- Muntrees, yeah.
0:20:35 > 0:20:39So they're a little berry and they kind of taste like a bruised apple.
0:20:39 > 0:20:40A definite apple flavour.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43Yeah, so to market them, they call them a native apple.
0:20:43 > 0:20:44This looks like a plum.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46And it is, yeah, it's a Davidson plum.
0:20:46 > 0:20:48- So...- Crikey!
0:20:49 > 0:20:51- What sort of plum is it? - Davidson plum.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54These are the ones that have sort of make it out of the country.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57You see them on trendier menus around the world.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59- Finger limes.- Finger limes.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02So you just open it up and then you can just squeeze out
0:21:02 > 0:21:04all these little caviar-like citrus.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08Not only do they taste like a lovely, fragrant lime...
0:21:08 > 0:21:10Yeah, but they've got a beautiful texture.
0:21:10 > 0:21:15Do you think people like you can make these things happen?
0:21:15 > 0:21:16I hope so, yeah.
0:21:16 > 0:21:20It would be nice if we could start using things that actually grow
0:21:20 > 0:21:21and are indigenous to Australia.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24And give us a bit more of a voice.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26You know, it'd be good to base a little bit more
0:21:26 > 0:21:28around the stuff that we have here.
0:21:29 > 0:21:33Almost 90% of Australia's plants are found nowhere else.
0:21:34 > 0:21:36A lot of them are edible,
0:21:36 > 0:21:39but until Delia finishes How To Boil A Muntree,
0:21:39 > 0:21:43cooking with them is a matter of trial and error.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46But the knowledge I need isn't found in cookbooks.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51The first Australians didn't write their recipes down.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54For 40,000 years, they didn't just survive -
0:21:54 > 0:21:56they thrived on wild foods.
0:21:58 > 0:22:02It was really interesting talking to Phil about native fruit,
0:22:02 > 0:22:04vegetables and herbs,
0:22:04 > 0:22:05but I'm on the beach now
0:22:05 > 0:22:08and I'm going to meet a local Aboriginal chef
0:22:08 > 0:22:12and I think she's going to teach me a whole lot more.
0:22:17 > 0:22:21This is Botany Bay, where Captain Cook first landed.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25It's also where today's visitors
0:22:25 > 0:22:27are constantly coming in to land overhead.
0:22:31 > 0:22:32My guide is Jo Walles -
0:22:32 > 0:22:36she's a chef trained in the classical French tradition,
0:22:36 > 0:22:41who first learned to cook at the knee of her Aboriginal mum, Donna.
0:22:41 > 0:22:45So her food is a bit of a fusion of ancient and modern.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48Well, I didn't know I was going to be taken on as a sort of sous-chef,
0:22:48 > 0:22:51but Jo's got me making pesto.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54I've got some garlic in here, a bit of olive oil.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57It doesn't sound that Aboriginal, but we'll see.
0:22:57 > 0:22:59Some macadamia nuts.
0:22:59 > 0:23:01Yes, they're very Aboriginal.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05'But this is what makes it really authentic.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07'In place of basil, warrigal greens -
0:23:07 > 0:23:10'straight from the bush. Literally.'
0:23:11 > 0:23:13So are these more of the warrigals?
0:23:13 > 0:23:17Yeah, these are the warrigal greens, Australia's native spinach.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21They're found around Botany Bay here, which is where Captain Cook landed.
0:23:21 > 0:23:23Would Captain Cook have known about warrigal greens?
0:23:23 > 0:23:25Yes, he did, he fed it to the crew
0:23:25 > 0:23:28so they wouldn't pick up scurvy along their travels.
0:23:28 > 0:23:29Can I taste a bit?
0:23:29 > 0:23:32I mean, I'm only asking you, they're not poisonous
0:23:32 > 0:23:34- when you eat them, like...?- You can eat a little bit raw,
0:23:34 > 0:23:36but you're not allowed to eat too much of it
0:23:36 > 0:23:38because it does have a bit of a poisonous...
0:23:38 > 0:23:40Excuse me.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43But once we blanch it, we can use it for pesto,
0:23:43 > 0:23:46we can use it like normal European spinach,
0:23:46 > 0:23:49and this is one of the local area's staples.
0:23:49 > 0:23:50So, which first?
0:23:50 > 0:23:54Jo had told me we'd be able to forage for all the vegetables
0:23:54 > 0:23:56for our meal within 50ft of her fire.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01This saltbush, you can add it to fish.
0:24:02 > 0:24:03It's salty but it's quite bitter.
0:24:03 > 0:24:05- Not poisonous?- No.
0:24:05 > 0:24:06Phew.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08Once you've got your eye in,
0:24:08 > 0:24:11turns out the beach is a super market garden.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14- So this is...? - This is the sea mustard.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17I reckon I could use this in my fish cooking.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20We would have used it to flavour our seafood, our shellfish,
0:24:20 > 0:24:22it brings the fish to life.
0:24:22 > 0:24:24This I like. I mean, I've liked the other stuff,
0:24:24 > 0:24:27- don't get me wrong, but... - This is the best you like so far.
0:24:27 > 0:24:31Back at the kitchen, dinner's still roasting at 200 degrees,
0:24:31 > 0:24:33about gas mark 6.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36Not that Jo's told me what it is we're cooking.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41Be gentle, it's one long piece right there.
0:24:42 > 0:24:44So we'll just shake all of that off.
0:24:44 > 0:24:46'It's a sort of fish-shaped package.'
0:24:47 > 0:24:50- Oh, you've got some roo in there. - I've got some roo for you to try.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53Kangaroo in a paper pouch.
0:24:54 > 0:25:00So it's a bit charcoaly but we'll just slide the paper bark off.
0:25:00 > 0:25:01This is flathead.
0:25:02 > 0:25:04And so I've already stuffed it
0:25:04 > 0:25:08with some lemon myrtle and some native limes.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11- Now is the time to try. - Warrigal green pesto with your fish.
0:25:16 > 0:25:17That's very good.
0:25:17 > 0:25:21Sometimes I think, actually, a bit of well-cooked fish is no bad thing.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23But I love this.
0:25:25 > 0:25:27The next course is that roast kangaroo.
0:25:29 > 0:25:31I've actually used a Davidson plum with the kangaroo here.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34- Can I try a bit while you're carving?- You sure can.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40I didn't think it was going to be terribly good,
0:25:40 > 0:25:41but it's very nice.
0:25:41 > 0:25:45They're the limes that I used inside the flathead.
0:25:45 > 0:25:46They pack a punch.
0:25:46 > 0:25:48They pack a punch, wow!
0:25:48 > 0:25:50And these are our native limes.
0:25:50 > 0:25:51Got to try everything.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54I love using that as a lemon curd tart.
0:25:54 > 0:25:56That's got tang.
0:25:56 > 0:26:00I think that Australians are starting to become aware
0:26:00 > 0:26:02of how great their local produce is.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05And this is only the tip of the iceberg that we have here today.
0:26:05 > 0:26:10There's one final treat left in the embers. It's crocodile.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13- There is the croc. - So this would be one portion.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15This is what they could do in restaurants
0:26:15 > 0:26:16for chefs that say it's too hard.
0:26:16 > 0:26:20- Yeah.- As a cartouche, with the paper bark and the banana leaf.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22So we just chop that up. It's gonna be hot.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24If you didn't tell me what it was,
0:26:24 > 0:26:26I'd say it was some sort of fish.
0:26:26 > 0:26:27I like it.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29There's a lot you could do with Aboriginal food,
0:26:29 > 0:26:32I think we've tended to... Not we, Australians have tended to
0:26:32 > 0:26:35sort of look towards Europe, look towards Asia.
0:26:35 > 0:26:39I would be glad to see a lot more of this produce widely used.
0:26:39 > 0:26:41It is fresh, it's vibrant.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44It's seasonal and it's local,
0:26:44 > 0:26:45and it's 100% Australian own,
0:26:45 > 0:26:49Aboriginal cultivated and looked after.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52Why can't the rest of the world enjoy what we've been enjoying
0:26:52 > 0:26:54for thousands and thousands of years?
0:26:54 > 0:26:56Well, I think it's up to you Aussies to make more of it.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58I'm hoping in the next five, ten years
0:26:58 > 0:27:01that this is the forefront on a lot of main menus.
0:27:02 > 0:27:06Beating about the Australian bush offers tantalizing possibilities
0:27:06 > 0:27:10and extraordinary taste sensations.
0:27:10 > 0:27:15After seeing two great chefs trying their hand with foraged ingredients,
0:27:15 > 0:27:18I know wild is the next big thing.
0:27:18 > 0:27:22And the wildest place of all is nestled in a silver sea
0:27:22 > 0:27:24a thousand miles to the south.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28Tasmania used to be seen as a bit of a joke,
0:27:28 > 0:27:31"rustic" and "wild" - meaning backward.
0:27:31 > 0:27:36But wild is suddenly hot, meaning Tassie's newly cool,
0:27:36 > 0:27:38the future of Aussie cuisine.
0:27:38 > 0:27:40So who's laughing now?
0:27:44 > 0:27:47In a country where popping down to the shops can mean a 100-mile
0:27:47 > 0:27:51round trip, the flight south is only a short hop.
0:27:51 > 0:27:56But it's not so much about distance as time, and travelling back in it.
0:27:59 > 0:28:05Tasmania's old-fashioned - as in charming, innocent and unspoilt.
0:28:13 > 0:28:16I did once visit the capital, Hobart.
0:28:21 > 0:28:23But this Eden is new to me.
0:28:27 > 0:28:29It doesn't feel like Australia...
0:28:31 > 0:28:34..but you never realise how truly wonderful something is
0:28:34 > 0:28:36until you experience it itself.
0:28:38 > 0:28:43As well as beauty, I can already see that there is bounty here too.
0:28:43 > 0:28:45They're everywhere, signs for fresh fruit.
0:28:47 > 0:28:51Apricots, raspberries, cherries.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54Pink-eyes. I think that's some sort of potato, not a fish.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57And there's fruit farms everywhere.
0:28:58 > 0:29:00A lot of these are small scale operations,
0:29:00 > 0:29:03sort of second-job farming.
0:29:03 > 0:29:06There's not a combine harvester in sight.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12I keep thinking shall I stop or shan't I?
0:29:12 > 0:29:14Maybe around the next corner.
0:29:14 > 0:29:17Eventually, it got to me.
0:29:17 > 0:29:20Time for the driver reviver, Tassie style.
0:29:20 > 0:29:23I couldn't carry on without stopping.
0:29:23 > 0:29:25Blueberries.
0:29:25 > 0:29:27I just can't resist blueberries.
0:29:30 > 0:29:33And apricots. We don't get enough apricots back home.
0:29:36 > 0:29:38Delicious.
0:29:39 > 0:29:40I mean, this is heaven for me.
0:29:40 > 0:29:42I love my fruit
0:29:42 > 0:29:45and just being able to stop and get it on the roadside...
0:29:47 > 0:29:48..perfection.
0:29:49 > 0:29:51I'm feeding the meter.
0:29:52 > 0:29:54I'm not sure if you're actually supposed to
0:29:54 > 0:29:56eat out of one of these stalls,
0:29:56 > 0:29:57but I do like that.
0:29:57 > 0:30:02"If you choose to steal my produce, I hope you choke!"
0:30:07 > 0:30:09Dollars lighter and pounds heavier,
0:30:09 > 0:30:11back on the road,
0:30:11 > 0:30:16now able to pass signs for fruits that can stay forbidden.
0:30:16 > 0:30:17But amongst them,
0:30:17 > 0:30:21a sign for something that's just too intriguing to pass by.
0:30:22 > 0:30:25Now, as I've said, I reckon bush meat is the future,
0:30:25 > 0:30:29but the wallaby must be a mammal too far.
0:30:29 > 0:30:31Most Aussies think of it as vermin.
0:30:31 > 0:30:35This bloke thinks of it as gourmet food.
0:30:35 > 0:30:39OK. And the farm is just near there. Brilliant.
0:30:39 > 0:30:41OK, see you later, Ross.
0:30:45 > 0:30:49That was Ross O'Meira, he's a pig farmer by day
0:30:49 > 0:30:51but a wallaby hunter by night!
0:30:54 > 0:30:57Tasmania is about as remote as you can get,
0:30:57 > 0:31:00but to see Ross means taking a ferry to somewhere
0:31:00 > 0:31:04even more out of the way, the tiny island of Bruny -
0:31:04 > 0:31:09only accessible by ferry, a kind of marsupial Jurassic Park.
0:31:12 > 0:31:16He farms somewhere in the woods, and tells me that alongside
0:31:16 > 0:31:21his pig business he's set up a wallaby operation that's thriving.
0:31:21 > 0:31:25Apparently, there are 500,000 Tasmanians
0:31:25 > 0:31:28and ten million wallabies.
0:31:28 > 0:31:33That's bad for the animals and for the environment, which they destroy.
0:31:33 > 0:31:36Ross O'Meira has a solution.
0:31:37 > 0:31:41- Hi. Ross. - Hi, Rick, nice to meet you.
0:31:41 > 0:31:43You're a pig farmer
0:31:43 > 0:31:46but this is hardly what I'm sort of imagining when you say pig farming.
0:31:46 > 0:31:50- I imagine, you know, big pig stalls. - Concrete, yes, yes.
0:31:50 > 0:31:51That stuff.
0:31:51 > 0:31:54I would love to say you sort of slip under the net in a way.
0:31:54 > 0:31:57- Yes, completely.- Look at that! - He's just having a crawl.
0:31:57 > 0:32:01This is what everybody dreams about free-range pork, isn't it?
0:32:01 > 0:32:03He's beautiful, with the young ones.
0:32:03 > 0:32:05And as you can tell, they like hanging out with the big fella.
0:32:05 > 0:32:06Don't they just?!
0:32:14 > 0:32:16One thing I'll say in Tasmania,
0:32:16 > 0:32:18wallaby is the main source of the diet.
0:32:18 > 0:32:21There's a lot of Tasmanians that have always eaten it.
0:32:21 > 0:32:23I've got a few Tasmanian friends that will make a roo-strone or
0:32:23 > 0:32:26they'll make wallaby bolognese. It's a beautiful meat.
0:32:26 > 0:32:29I'm looking forward to trying it. I've never tried it.
0:32:29 > 0:32:30The best part about it, it's organic,
0:32:30 > 0:32:33grass fed, free-range meat, so it's a fantastic product.
0:32:35 > 0:32:39To get hold of wallaby meat we need to hunt - by night.
0:32:39 > 0:32:41The population's exploded
0:32:41 > 0:32:44because there are so many delicious crops on Bruny,
0:32:44 > 0:32:47and no natural predators -
0:32:47 > 0:32:49except hunters like Ross.
0:32:50 > 0:32:54We are just off to a neighbouring property that have asked
0:32:54 > 0:32:56Ross to come in and cull the wallabies.
0:32:56 > 0:32:59I get the impression that when they took the property over
0:32:59 > 0:33:02they thought that wallabies were really cute
0:33:02 > 0:33:05and now they've realised how the wallabies devastate
0:33:05 > 0:33:08the habitat, they've asked him to come in all the time.
0:33:13 > 0:33:16Tasmania is the only place in Australia
0:33:16 > 0:33:19where you can legally kill wallabies for food.
0:33:19 > 0:33:21Much of it goes to feed pets.
0:33:21 > 0:33:25Ross is out to harvest meat destined for discerning diners.
0:33:26 > 0:33:29So, what we'll do is, if you can see down there on the fence line,
0:33:29 > 0:33:31they'll sit there in the bushes
0:33:31 > 0:33:33and they'll slowly work their way out and we will sit
0:33:33 > 0:33:36until it gets a little bit dark, they'll come out and start feeding.
0:33:36 > 0:33:40Then, once you put the spotlight on them, it kind of stuns them and they just kind of stop.
0:33:40 > 0:33:43- And that is when you pick them off? - That's it, yes.
0:33:48 > 0:33:52Sure enough, it's not long before the wallabies make an appearance.
0:33:52 > 0:33:55There's one there on that side of the fence.
0:34:01 > 0:34:06If it's for human consumption, Ross must get a clean head shot.
0:34:09 > 0:34:11GUNSHOT
0:34:11 > 0:34:12Gosh! Wow!
0:34:12 > 0:34:14Always good to get it straight off the bat.
0:34:14 > 0:34:16And you got it in the head?
0:34:16 > 0:34:20- Yeah, he just dropped straightaway. - He just went down like that.- Yeah.
0:34:22 > 0:34:25I'm very impressed with that. It must be a very small target
0:34:25 > 0:34:27and it's a clean shot right in the head.
0:34:28 > 0:34:31Thanks to Ross's skill, the kill was instantaneous.
0:34:40 > 0:34:44Next morning, the wallaby's roasting in an anchovy stock.
0:34:45 > 0:34:48Being fresh it needs slow-cooking to tenderize it.
0:34:50 > 0:34:54This second one's been hanging for a few days and can be simply fried.
0:34:55 > 0:34:57So, I will take the shanks off now.
0:34:57 > 0:35:01You can cook them like you would any other shank, like a lamb shank.
0:35:01 > 0:35:04They braise up really well. There's the two shanks there.
0:35:04 > 0:35:07Ross has carved out two prime wallaby cuts -
0:35:07 > 0:35:12topside, and one from close to the spine, known as the backstrap.
0:35:13 > 0:35:15I've just got a bit of salt and pepper.
0:35:15 > 0:35:17I'll just drop a bit of olive oil on it.
0:35:17 > 0:35:19There we go. I'll get these ones in the pan.
0:35:21 > 0:35:24Put the other one on the other side,
0:35:24 > 0:35:26and I'll get the backstraps in.
0:35:27 > 0:35:29A bit more salt and pepper on this side.
0:35:29 > 0:35:32I like the fact you are cooking it just with salt and pepper because
0:35:32 > 0:35:36I just have a feeling that there would be a lot of people out there
0:35:36 > 0:35:39who would be marinating it for three weeks in all kinds of rubbish
0:35:39 > 0:35:42- and basically all I want is to taste what it's like.- Probably put a bit
0:35:42 > 0:35:45of a teaspoon of bacon fat in there, just to get a little bit of
0:35:45 > 0:35:48crackling going and a little bit of moisture.
0:35:48 > 0:35:50I love bacon fat. Do you cook with a lot of bacon fat?
0:35:50 > 0:35:54I do because I tend to have a lot of bacon around the house!
0:35:54 > 0:35:57- Drop that fat in there now. - Can I taste a bit?
0:35:58 > 0:36:00Oh! That is lovely!
0:36:00 > 0:36:02It's good, clean fat, isn't it?
0:36:02 > 0:36:04A slight bit of smokiness,
0:36:04 > 0:36:06a lovely savoury taste to it.
0:36:06 > 0:36:08Take it off to the side to rest.
0:36:10 > 0:36:13A delicious smell has started to permeate the air.
0:36:13 > 0:36:15Kiki!
0:36:17 > 0:36:21The family pooch is as fit as any butcher's dog I've ever met.
0:36:22 > 0:36:25Time for me to try the slow-roast meat from last night.
0:36:25 > 0:36:28My first taste of wallaby.
0:36:28 > 0:36:31- See the way it... - Oh, yes, it's peeling off.
0:36:31 > 0:36:33- Can I try a bit? - Oh, yeah, go for that.
0:36:33 > 0:36:35It's like a little drumette.
0:36:38 > 0:36:40That's gorgeous!
0:36:40 > 0:36:41That is really lovely.
0:36:41 > 0:36:45That's sort of like a lamb shank only much lighter in flavour.
0:36:45 > 0:36:47Fabulous!
0:36:47 > 0:36:49'Delicious and fragrant.
0:36:49 > 0:36:52'Now to see if the older, hung meat is gamier.'
0:36:52 > 0:36:54Have a little bit of a taste.
0:36:54 > 0:36:56I must say it looks very appetising.
0:36:56 > 0:36:58Go for that bit there.
0:36:58 > 0:37:00I'll give you this one first, the topside.
0:37:00 > 0:37:03I reckon it's got a bit better flavour.
0:37:06 > 0:37:07Fabulous.
0:37:08 > 0:37:10A little bit chewy, but...
0:37:10 > 0:37:13do you know, that is really lovely.
0:37:13 > 0:37:15So there's the backstrap there.
0:37:18 > 0:37:21Fab! I'd say it's a bit like bavette, you know,
0:37:21 > 0:37:25like a slightly less than totally tender beef cut,
0:37:25 > 0:37:26but it's got a better flavour to me.
0:37:26 > 0:37:28Yeah.
0:37:28 > 0:37:32And I'm just amazed that it's held in such sort of low esteem.
0:37:32 > 0:37:34I mean, this is like gourmet food to me.
0:37:34 > 0:37:36Yeah, it's great meat that's just there, you know?
0:37:36 > 0:37:40- So basically we're having something nice to eat...- Yeah.
0:37:40 > 0:37:43..and you are doing good for the environment.
0:37:43 > 0:37:45- Correct.- And everyone's a winner,
0:37:45 > 0:37:47- even the wallabies.- True.
0:37:47 > 0:37:49- Not this wallaby!- No.
0:37:52 > 0:37:55Wallaby meat is nothing short of a revelation.
0:37:56 > 0:37:58I really do think we're on to something here.
0:37:58 > 0:38:02I think something like that will be the next big thing.
0:38:02 > 0:38:04And, of course, wallaby meat is wild meat,
0:38:04 > 0:38:09so Ross and others like him will always be small-scale producers.
0:38:10 > 0:38:13In a place seemingly unsullied by the modern world
0:38:13 > 0:38:18this is farming far removed from the almost industrialised
0:38:18 > 0:38:21food production I'm used to on the mainland.
0:38:21 > 0:38:26And on the evidence so far, the result is superb quality.
0:38:27 > 0:38:31It does have this wonderful image of purity, clean air, clean water,
0:38:31 > 0:38:35and I think that is what it means to the rest of Australia,
0:38:35 > 0:38:39so the products from Tasmania seem to be top quality.
0:38:40 > 0:38:43The search for emerging Tasmanian products
0:38:43 > 0:38:47leads just a little north to the island's capital, Hobart.
0:38:51 > 0:38:54This is the only bit of Tasmania I'd visited before.
0:38:56 > 0:38:58On the mainland, things have moved on,
0:38:58 > 0:39:01but Hobart is just as I remembered it.
0:39:01 > 0:39:04Gosh, I've been coming to Australia for a long time!
0:39:04 > 0:39:08When I first arrived in Sydney, it looked a bit like this.
0:39:08 > 0:39:10I can remember the first shopping malls being built.
0:39:12 > 0:39:14But now, Sydney...
0:39:15 > 0:39:16..just like that.
0:39:16 > 0:39:19And this...is the capital of Tasmania.
0:39:20 > 0:39:23That's rush hour over there.
0:39:25 > 0:39:27I mean, it's hard to believe,
0:39:27 > 0:39:32but it just reminds me so much of when I first came to Australia,
0:39:32 > 0:39:34and it's wonderful.
0:39:34 > 0:39:39But it's patronising to think of this place as a twee backwater.
0:39:39 > 0:39:42I'm here to find out what the future holds.
0:39:42 > 0:39:46What's drawn me to Hobart is a brochure for a product
0:39:46 > 0:39:48I wouldn't have associated with Tasmania
0:39:48 > 0:39:53and, even more surprising, seems they do it better than anyone else.
0:39:53 > 0:39:59Did you know that the world's best single malt whisky comes from here in Tasmania?
0:39:59 > 0:40:02I sort of did, mate, but I didn't know whereabouts from.
0:40:02 > 0:40:05- You didn't?- No. - So you've never tasted it?
0:40:05 > 0:40:07No, I haven't, mate, I'm not a whisky drinker.
0:40:07 > 0:40:12Fair enough! Maybe when you drop me off I could get them to give you a taste.
0:40:12 > 0:40:16Er, yeah, once I knock off from work, mate, yeah.
0:40:16 > 0:40:21Seems Tasmania's quiet food revolution really is quiet!
0:40:21 > 0:40:24Even the locals haven't heard about it.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29In my day, Aussies mostly drank beer, and so did I -
0:40:29 > 0:40:31like a beery fish.
0:40:31 > 0:40:34Later, their wines emerged.
0:40:34 > 0:40:39But now this distillery has conquered the whisky world.
0:40:39 > 0:40:45In 2014, theirs was voted the best single malt anywhere.
0:40:45 > 0:40:49It's even more amazing when you consider that Patrick McGuire
0:40:49 > 0:40:53and his team only started making whisky 15 years ago.
0:40:53 > 0:40:58What's so special about your Tasmanian whisky, do you think?
0:40:58 > 0:41:01We're lucky to be small,
0:41:01 > 0:41:04unknown, with no demands on what we're doing.
0:41:04 > 0:41:06We didn't have demands.
0:41:06 > 0:41:08So we've got the luxury of time.
0:41:08 > 0:41:10So we do things in a very old-fashioned way -
0:41:10 > 0:41:13we take months to dilute and
0:41:13 > 0:41:19allow whiskies to settle so it's an old-fashioned, raw style of whisky.
0:41:19 > 0:41:22It's a natural for Tasmania -
0:41:22 > 0:41:24we've got a nice cool climate,
0:41:24 > 0:41:27we've got a lot of high quality barley grown here,
0:41:27 > 0:41:29our water is fantastic,
0:41:29 > 0:41:32so all the ingredients are there. We're a long way away
0:41:32 > 0:41:35from anywhere else in the world
0:41:35 > 0:41:38so if we're going to compete, we have to produce a very
0:41:38 > 0:41:40high quality product. It doesn't matter what it is,
0:41:40 > 0:41:43it'll be small quantities but high value.
0:41:45 > 0:41:49Now, I'm not a big whisky drinker, but this is work.
0:41:49 > 0:41:51I have to steel myself.
0:41:52 > 0:41:54There you are, Rick.
0:41:54 > 0:41:56Have a little glass of...
0:41:56 > 0:41:58- It smells a bit strong. - ..our matured whisky.
0:41:58 > 0:42:01This one's around 14 years old now
0:42:01 > 0:42:05- and will be - be careful - up around 70% alcohol.- Wow!
0:42:05 > 0:42:07I can smell it from here.
0:42:07 > 0:42:09Is this the one that won the prize, then?
0:42:09 > 0:42:11That barrel was bottled out in its entirety.
0:42:11 > 0:42:15- Is there any left? - We've got three bottles.
0:42:15 > 0:42:17Are you going to sell them or keep them?
0:42:17 > 0:42:18What would they be offering?
0:42:18 > 0:42:22We've been offered some very serious money for those.
0:42:22 > 0:42:24- Like how serious? - Up to 20,000 a bottle.
0:42:24 > 0:42:2620,000 a bottle. Blinking hell!
0:42:26 > 0:42:29Yeah, I know, that's what we said!
0:42:29 > 0:42:31Let me just tell you what I think of this!
0:42:31 > 0:42:36Being poetic, this tastes like some trout stream somewhere in Tasmania.
0:42:36 > 0:42:38I always find good whisky
0:42:38 > 0:42:41and water have a sort of affinity.
0:42:41 > 0:42:43I think it's slightly sort of brackish,
0:42:43 > 0:42:46up a mountain, water, trouts...
0:42:46 > 0:42:48- Sounds good, doesn't it?- It does.
0:42:48 > 0:42:50Perhaps we should get the rods out!
0:42:56 > 0:42:59It's about quality not quantity.
0:43:01 > 0:43:03I think the secret of Tasmanian success
0:43:03 > 0:43:06is keeping it small and artisanal...
0:43:08 > 0:43:11..and trading on the purity of products
0:43:11 > 0:43:15from the sort of environment that's a copywriter's dream.
0:43:26 > 0:43:31Looking out of my window, whisky seems more and more at home here.
0:43:32 > 0:43:36But for the gum trees, Tasmania could be Scotland.
0:43:36 > 0:43:40I mean, when you look out of the window and you see all this water
0:43:40 > 0:43:43and the hills and mountains behind.
0:43:43 > 0:43:47Here in the south, the valley floors are full of sea lochs,
0:43:47 > 0:43:50and they're home to an industry that's familiar in Scotland
0:43:50 > 0:43:53but a bit of an innovation here.
0:43:58 > 0:44:02These big inland areas of seawater are covered with fish farms.
0:44:02 > 0:44:03I've been passing them all day.
0:44:03 > 0:44:0630 years ago, nothing!
0:44:06 > 0:44:09It's a well-known story in the Aussie food business -
0:44:09 > 0:44:13in just three decades the Tasmanian salmon industry
0:44:13 > 0:44:17has gone from literally nothing to world-beating.
0:44:17 > 0:44:21Pristine waters and careful attention to welfare
0:44:21 > 0:44:25have produced fish that fetch the highest prices in Japan.
0:44:27 > 0:44:31And now one of Japan's best sushi chefs has come over here
0:44:31 > 0:44:35and caused his own mini culinary revolution...
0:44:35 > 0:44:38..which is how I come to have a Tasmanian salmon
0:44:38 > 0:44:42on the back seat and a bit of a deadline.
0:44:42 > 0:44:4630 years ago when I started doing TV, you wanted to do something,
0:44:46 > 0:44:50you said, "I'm going to take this from A to B," and you did it.
0:44:50 > 0:44:54But these days you have got to sort of jazz it up a bit.
0:44:54 > 0:44:57They call it jeopardy, I call it melodrama.
0:44:57 > 0:44:59It goes a bit like this...
0:44:59 > 0:45:02I've got a monster salmon in the back, but I've got to get it
0:45:02 > 0:45:06to a sushi chef in time for lunch, but there's a problem.
0:45:06 > 0:45:09I've got directions and a sat nav and I don't really know how to
0:45:09 > 0:45:14read the map or work the sat nav, and worse still, it's getting warm.
0:45:14 > 0:45:17The salmon's beginning to heat up.
0:45:17 > 0:45:20Well, there's air conditioning but it's not working very well.
0:45:20 > 0:45:24It's 90 degrees outside and I can only go at 55mph.
0:45:24 > 0:45:27Will I make it in time for lunch?
0:45:27 > 0:45:28Will I...?
0:45:28 > 0:45:29HORN TOOTS
0:45:29 > 0:45:33Bit more of that and I could be on Top Gear!
0:45:35 > 0:45:38The master chef I'm seeking is Masaaki Koyama,
0:45:38 > 0:45:40formerly of Osaka,
0:45:40 > 0:45:44but now living in the bijou town of Geeveston.
0:45:46 > 0:45:48I've heard of tiny towns, but this one,
0:45:48 > 0:45:52it's supposed to be just off the main drag. Where IS the main drag?
0:45:52 > 0:45:54Is this the main drag?
0:45:54 > 0:45:56There's the swearing chemist.
0:45:56 > 0:46:00Supposed to have colourful language. I love his trousers!
0:46:00 > 0:46:04There we are. Sushi. Fab.
0:46:05 > 0:46:10In just six years Masaaki has transformed local tastes,
0:46:10 > 0:46:13just as all those immigrant chefs did in Sydney.
0:46:13 > 0:46:16The neighbours can't get enough of his sushi.
0:46:19 > 0:46:22He's already setting about my salmon with aplomb.
0:46:26 > 0:46:28This is good for sashimi.
0:46:28 > 0:46:30I love salmon sashimi!
0:46:31 > 0:46:35I just love watching the way really well-trained sushi chefs work.
0:46:35 > 0:46:39There's such a delicacy about the way they cut everything.
0:46:39 > 0:46:42It's like a form of massage to me, it's just so peaceful.
0:46:46 > 0:46:48I'm just cutting off the fatty part,
0:46:48 > 0:46:50leaving the fishy flavour.
0:46:50 > 0:46:51When he first arrived,
0:46:51 > 0:46:55Masaaki opened seven days a week to put himself on the map.
0:46:55 > 0:47:00Today his sushi is so popular, he opens just twice a week,
0:47:00 > 0:47:02and then only for lunch!
0:47:02 > 0:47:06His few tables and tiny takeaway counter pull in locals
0:47:06 > 0:47:09and enthusiasts from all over the island.
0:47:09 > 0:47:14Wow, look at that! You must think you've died and gone to heaven!
0:47:14 > 0:47:17Actually, I was Masaaki's very first customer.
0:47:17 > 0:47:20I was waiting outside the door when I heard there was a sushi place
0:47:20 > 0:47:24- opening in town.- The ex-premier came three times before she could get in!
0:47:24 > 0:47:26THEY LAUGH
0:47:26 > 0:47:30People come and it's sold out within an hour.
0:47:33 > 0:47:36Geeveston is a town in love with sushi.
0:47:36 > 0:47:40But local tastes weren't always so sophisticated.
0:47:40 > 0:47:43It was very interesting for me to start at first.
0:47:43 > 0:47:48- I never met people who never eat rice before.- They had never eaten rice!
0:47:48 > 0:47:51I was a sushi virgin!
0:47:51 > 0:47:53I just wanted to introduce my food
0:47:53 > 0:47:58and then, people started coming back again and again.
0:48:00 > 0:48:02The locals have embraced Masaaki's sushi,
0:48:02 > 0:48:07and Masaaki has done the same with the outstanding local ingredients.
0:48:07 > 0:48:10I thought the best way is using local produce.
0:48:10 > 0:48:14For example, beetroot, we don't have beetroot in Japan.
0:48:14 > 0:48:17But I just love it. Very tasty.
0:48:17 > 0:48:20What about the salmon, how did you find that, the quality?
0:48:20 > 0:48:22Salmon quality is very good.
0:48:22 > 0:48:25Never seen this fresh before in Japan.
0:48:25 > 0:48:30I was very lucky, I could do a lot of experimenting all the time.
0:48:30 > 0:48:34Using the finest Tasmanian produce seems to have freed Masaaki up
0:48:34 > 0:48:37to take sushi to the next level.
0:48:38 > 0:48:40This one's a yellowfin tuna and snow pea.
0:48:40 > 0:48:44This is a cooked tuna, this is a cold smoked ocean trout.
0:48:44 > 0:48:46We have prawn and avocado here
0:48:46 > 0:48:48and this one is the Japanese egg omelette.
0:48:48 > 0:48:51And Masaaki's inari is a beancurd pouch
0:48:51 > 0:48:54with rice, honey brown mushrooms, beetroot,
0:48:54 > 0:48:56sesame seeds and carrot.
0:48:56 > 0:49:01As a chef, it's just a privilege to see someone like Masaaki at work.
0:49:03 > 0:49:06I often go on about how I like watching people
0:49:06 > 0:49:09do things they do well, but this is in a class of its own.
0:49:11 > 0:49:15Masaaki trained for three years, much of it spent in A&E,
0:49:15 > 0:49:18then honed his craft for another 22.
0:49:19 > 0:49:23So what is the perfect way to treat the perfect salmon?
0:49:23 > 0:49:26Nice size - not too big, not too small.
0:49:26 > 0:49:32Just harvested the right way, rest about one day or two days.
0:49:32 > 0:49:34Of course you have to have good skill to fillet.
0:49:34 > 0:49:39Eat with friends - that is best, I think.
0:49:39 > 0:49:44When I look at that, I virtually can't keep my chopsticks off it.
0:49:44 > 0:49:45It looks so beautiful.
0:49:47 > 0:49:52'For me, when a product of this quality meets a chef this skilled,
0:49:52 > 0:49:56'the result is - well, it's a kind of poetry.'
0:50:00 > 0:50:03That's it, they're closed now, for five days.
0:50:03 > 0:50:05They need to get on with the more serious things in life,
0:50:05 > 0:50:08surfing, fishing, maybe gardening.
0:50:08 > 0:50:12And for me it's a great business model, it's called less is more.
0:50:12 > 0:50:16Because this is some of the best sushi I've ever had in my life,
0:50:16 > 0:50:19in this tiny town - it's unbelievable.
0:50:21 > 0:50:26On the mainland, Australian industry shouts a lot about its success,
0:50:26 > 0:50:29but these islanders seem happy to whisper
0:50:29 > 0:50:32and wait for people to notice their genius.
0:50:34 > 0:50:36Which isn't always a good thing.
0:50:36 > 0:50:40One of the most famous Tasmanian foodstuffs is virtually unknown
0:50:40 > 0:50:41on the mainland.
0:50:45 > 0:50:48Getting to the point of production is a bit tricky.
0:50:52 > 0:50:54Getting there is half the fun!
0:50:54 > 0:50:56Got to roll up my trousers!
0:51:04 > 0:51:08What I'm after seeing is abalone, a large sea snail.
0:51:11 > 0:51:14They're found all around the island in bays and inlets,
0:51:14 > 0:51:18many of them are known only to the fishermen who go after them.
0:51:28 > 0:51:31Abalone and crayfish is one of the main specialities
0:51:31 > 0:51:33of the local fishing bay.
0:51:33 > 0:51:37We see those guys come in and out in remote spots around the coast.
0:51:38 > 0:51:41Abalone are sub-sea fat cats.
0:51:41 > 0:51:45They lead a jet-set life, gliding about on sunlit rocks,
0:51:45 > 0:51:48sucking in the rich nutrients that drift by on the currents.
0:52:02 > 0:52:04Who needs runways when you've got a seaplane?
0:52:05 > 0:52:08Abalone grow very slowly.
0:52:08 > 0:52:11Scott Palmer and his fellow fishermen don't moan
0:52:11 > 0:52:16about fishing quotas - they've asked the government to impose them.
0:52:16 > 0:52:21Nobody wants to upset this trade. 25% of all the wild abalone
0:52:21 > 0:52:25eaten on earth comes from Tasmania.
0:52:25 > 0:52:29To make a fishing trip worthwhile, Scott and his divers stay out
0:52:29 > 0:52:34harvesting for days, but to get a sample catch, one dive is enough.
0:52:36 > 0:52:39This is what we're looking for, Rick.
0:52:39 > 0:52:40- You trust me?- Yep.
0:52:43 > 0:52:46So, this is them.
0:52:46 > 0:52:49This is our Tasmanian black lip abalone, Rick.
0:52:49 > 0:52:53And how do they rate, Tasmanian abalone, in the scheme of abalone?
0:52:53 > 0:52:57- World's best.- Of course!
0:52:57 > 0:53:01- And where's your biggest market? - It's in China.
0:53:01 > 0:53:05We have about 70% going live into China now.
0:53:05 > 0:53:07Do Aussies eat this?
0:53:07 > 0:53:11Um... Melbourne, Sydney in Chinatown you see abalone
0:53:11 > 0:53:16but you don't see a lot of abalone in the rest of the restaurants, no.
0:53:16 > 0:53:19- And why is that, do you think? - I think just...
0:53:19 > 0:53:20People haven't tasted it.
0:53:20 > 0:53:23If it's not cooked properly, it comes out like boot leather.
0:53:23 > 0:53:27People kill each other in other parts of the world for abalone!
0:53:27 > 0:53:31'It's big business - they fetch around 100 a kilo
0:53:31 > 0:53:35'or even more - that's 25 bucks each!'
0:53:35 > 0:53:36So how much you come home with?
0:53:36 > 0:53:41When these tanks are full, we have got three live tanks on board.
0:53:41 > 0:53:43When these are all full of abalone,
0:53:43 > 0:53:45she's got six tonne of abalone on board.
0:53:45 > 0:53:49- Six tonne?- Six tonne. - Well, that's nearly 300,000!
0:53:49 > 0:53:50It's getting close to it.
0:53:50 > 0:53:54- How often do you go to sea? - About 80 to 90 days a year.
0:53:54 > 0:53:56Ah, I see!
0:53:56 > 0:54:00- No wonder you're smiling! - Diesel's very dear, Rick!
0:54:00 > 0:54:05Oh, come on! That's what fishermen always say!
0:54:05 > 0:54:09Scott's sitting pretty as long as the Chinese market remains steady,
0:54:09 > 0:54:13but the trick will surely be to alert Australia to what they've got
0:54:13 > 0:54:15just off their own coast.
0:54:19 > 0:54:23First the meat gets a good bashing to tenderize it.
0:54:26 > 0:54:27OK.
0:54:31 > 0:54:33There you are.
0:54:33 > 0:54:36'Scott's a man after my own heart - keeping seafood simple.'
0:54:38 > 0:54:40I'm liking the look of this, I must say.
0:54:40 > 0:54:43They've got quite a lot of flavour.
0:54:43 > 0:54:46So I don't think you need to do a great deal with them.
0:54:46 > 0:54:49We're just about ready to start frying these.
0:54:49 > 0:54:51- What do you fry them in?- In ghee.
0:54:51 > 0:54:54- Ghee! Indian ghee?- Yes.- Great.
0:54:54 > 0:54:57I like seafood fried in ghee, I picked it up in India.
0:54:57 > 0:55:00I thought I could smell ghee. That's very unusual.
0:55:01 > 0:55:03I don't cook it really hot.
0:55:03 > 0:55:06No, I never do either. You just burn stuff.
0:55:06 > 0:55:09- They're not far from done. - That's quick.
0:55:09 > 0:55:11Smells great!
0:55:11 > 0:55:12Look at that!
0:55:12 > 0:55:16Now, would you like a little bit of salt on that or not?
0:55:16 > 0:55:18Yeah, I'll have a bit of salt.
0:55:18 > 0:55:22Here, I've got a very good Chardonnay from Tasmania.
0:55:22 > 0:55:24Wow! Now you're talking!
0:55:24 > 0:55:28- Abalone, Chardonnay. - We've got the fine china!
0:55:28 > 0:55:32- Let's go for it. - A premium Tasmanian wine.
0:55:32 > 0:55:35- Good health.- Good health.
0:55:37 > 0:55:40Oh, that's nice! Really good!
0:55:40 > 0:55:43Full of fruit, bit of oak, lovely. And now for this.
0:55:46 > 0:55:47Oh!
0:55:47 > 0:55:49- Tender.- You're a seafood cook!
0:55:51 > 0:55:53I can't tell you how good that is.
0:55:53 > 0:55:55Really, seriously.
0:55:55 > 0:55:59If the average Aussie could taste that, they would be converted
0:55:59 > 0:56:04instantly. Because it's like a prawn fritter, it's almost as sweet
0:56:04 > 0:56:06and as tasty as a prawn. And it's as tender.
0:56:06 > 0:56:12You tenderized it so well. That is absolutely delicious.
0:56:12 > 0:56:15I love abalone! I'm in love with abalone!
0:56:17 > 0:56:22Abalone has got to be the best seafood Australia isn't eating.
0:56:22 > 0:56:26And I reckon the Tasmanians should be shouting about them
0:56:26 > 0:56:27from the rooftops.
0:56:33 > 0:56:35I started this journey with an inkling
0:56:35 > 0:56:39that what I call the Australian national palate is changing -
0:56:39 > 0:56:43that they're starting to look to what they grow and harvest
0:56:43 > 0:56:45in their own backyard.
0:56:45 > 0:56:47And I think the Aussies are on the right track.
0:56:47 > 0:56:53The foods I've tasted here have been as good as anything, anywhere.
0:56:54 > 0:56:58Australia's tended to look towards the rest of the world
0:56:58 > 0:57:01for ideas, for materials, for food -
0:57:01 > 0:57:05they've tended to import all the best stuff and only now
0:57:05 > 0:57:07are they beginning to realise they don't need to do that,
0:57:07 > 0:57:12that if they work hard enough at what they're producing here,
0:57:12 > 0:57:14the world will look at them.
0:57:15 > 0:57:19I came here trying to find my place in the world, and so were they.
0:57:20 > 0:57:22We were both very young -
0:57:22 > 0:57:26modern, federal Oz was only about 200 years old.
0:57:26 > 0:57:31And I've been coming here for a considerable chunk of its existence,
0:57:31 > 0:57:35and in that time, it's made me the happier man I am.
0:57:36 > 0:57:39There's this optimism about this country
0:57:39 > 0:57:44and it's about being a new world and having boundless opportunities
0:57:44 > 0:57:48but it always lifts me up whenever I come here.
0:57:49 > 0:57:54I think Aussie cuisine is about to take a great leap forward -
0:57:54 > 0:57:56well, backwards if you like,
0:57:56 > 0:57:58to where it all began, with local.
0:57:58 > 0:58:04And with around 2,900,000 square miles of local
0:58:04 > 0:58:09to leap into, watch this rather large space.
0:58:11 > 0:58:15Next time, in Malaysia, cook and food writer Rachel Khoo
0:58:15 > 0:58:18journeys to the heart of her own family history.
0:58:18 > 0:58:20Oh! That's my dad!
0:58:20 > 0:58:23She goes off the beaten track to find out
0:58:23 > 0:58:26whether food can unite a multicultural society.
0:58:26 > 0:58:28This is at another level.