Serves 4

600g crocodile*/chicken (smoked)
4 cups leafy salad mix
2 truss tomatoes
1 telegraph cucumber
½ cup red capsicum

Dressing
1/3 cup vegetable or olive oil
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
¼ cup white vinegar
1 tsp kutjera
1 tsp saltbush
1 tsp sea parsley
1 tsp ground wattleseed
1 tsp English mustard
2 tspn honey
Salt/pepper

(*Smoked crocodile can be hard to come by, so you may substitute it with smoked chicken found in your local deli or supermarket).

METHOD:
Shave (thinly slice) the croc/chicken and set aside.

Prepare the salad by shredding the lettuce into julienne. Peel the skin off the cucumber and de-seed. Also de-seed the tomato, and cut into small cubes along with the cucumber. Dice the capsicum to the same size, and add all these ingredients to the lettuce.

To make the dressing, pour the vinegars, mustard and honey into a bowl, stirring until dissolved. Stir in the dry herbs and let them swell for the flavours to develop. Leave for at least 10 minutes. Whisk through the oil and add to the salad just before serving.

To serve, place the salad in small bowls and top with the smoked croc/chicken.

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If you’re in Melbourne grab your own copy of Melbourne City News from all CBD train stations, Federation Square, RMIT, Queen Victoria Market (and elsewhere if you’re lucky)!

MCN Article (Food & Wine), April 2011

Makes approx 20

Heat oil in a frying pan and cook the finely chopped onion until soft. Add cumin, coriander, allspice, cinnamon and Sea Parsley and cook for another minute til fragrant.

Add mince and cook until thoroughly browned. Stir in lemon juice and lemon rind and let simmer for 2 minutes. Once mixture is cool, stir in the pine nuts and half the fresh mint.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius and line some baking trays with baking paper.

Place a sheet of filo pastry onto a flat surface. Spray with olive oil and fold in half (bringing the shorter edges together). Cut in half .

Spoon 1 tbs of the meat mixture onto each piece of filo, making sure you leave 2cm border on each side. Fold in the sides and roll into a cigar shape to envelope the mixture. Place on prepared trays. Repeat with remaining ingredients, then brush with egg wash, milk or oil before baking in the oven for 15 minutes, until golden and crisp.

Mix yoghurt with the remaining fresh mint, Rivermint and grated cucumber (if using), adding salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, place filo pastries on a plate with salad and the yoghurt sauce. For added garnish, sprinkle with ground Kutjera.

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Black Olive Catering is proud to be the Victorian distributor of the Australian native produce range, Outback Pride.

ABOUT THE OUTBACK PRIDE PROJECT

The Outback Pride Project was created in 2000 by Mike and Gayle Quarmby of Reedy Creek Nursery, South Australia, to promote the Australian Native Food Industry and provide training and jobs for traditional Aboriginal communities.

Mike came from a talented background in plant propagation, cultivation and new product & species development.  Gayle’s family involvement with traditional communities dates back to 1932, when her father helped establish the world renowned Hermannsburg Watercolour movement alongside Albert Namatjira, one of Australia’s best known Aboriginal artists. Mike and Gayle soon realised that the bushfood industry was well placed beside the aboriginal art industry as both have a unique cultural and commercial ownership by Indigenous Australians.

The Reedy Creek Nursery has since provided the commercial base for research and development of all facets of the Outback Pride Project, including the propagation and cultivation of up to 64 bushfood species. A network of production and cultivation sites has been developed throughout South Australia and the Northern Territory.  The group of Aboriginal communities that forms this network represents the largest bushfood growing organization in Australia, and is now supported by various local and federal government departments.

The combination of cultural bush food traditions and western food practices has resulted in the branded range of
Outback Pride products.

BLACK OLIVE CATERING AND OUTBACK PRIDE

Mark Olive has worked in partnership with Mike and Gayle and Reedy Creek Nursery since 2002, utilising their product range and endorsing its place within the Australian Native Food Industry. Mark’s Outback Cafe cookbook, published in 2005, showcases this range of native herbs and spices sourced directly from indigenous community farms, and the positive, far-reaching impact it has in each region.

In early October 2010, Black Olive Catering became the Victorian distributor of the Outback Pride range of bush foods, joining a national distribution model. Now this range will be even more accessible to wholesalers, retailers and individuals throughout Victoria.

Click here to find your local stockist, or to become a stockist!

To learn more about the Outback Pride Project, visit http://www.outbackpride.com.au

Serves 4 to 5

400g button mushrooms
2 chicken breasts
1 medium brown onion
500ml cream
1 cup white wine (dry)
1 large clove garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon native basil
1 teaspoon native thyme
2 large teaspoons butter
Fresh continental parsley, chopped
1 packet tagliatelle pasta

(This recipe can be made for around $20)

METHOD:

Place a large pot of salted water on to boil.

Chop onions and sautee them in a separate pan with the butter. Add the crushed garlic and chicken, and cook until brown.

Add wine. Once it’s boiling add the mushrooms, then season to taste with salt, ground black pepper, and add the dried native herbs. Cook this off slowly over low heat.

Meanwhile, place the pasta into the boiling water and stir until it floats freely. Cook for approximately seven minutes, or until al dente, then drain.

Now add the cream to the chicken pan with a large handful of parsley.

Add the drained pasta and stir through until coated evenly.

Serve with your favourite grated cheese.

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Yolanda was immersed in the food industry from a very young age. She began running her own restaurants from the age of 23, and has been working with Mark Olive since the early Flamin’ Bull Bush Food Restaurant days. Yolanda’s expertise with food and business operations have since helped establish the catering arm of Black Olive.

We hope you enjoy Yolanda’s speciality indigenous flavoured pasta infusion.

Crown Limited (which includes Crown Melbourne and Burswood Casino in Perth) had previously and successfully committed to provide career opportunities for Aboriginal people within the company.

During NAIDOC 2010, Crown’s NAIDOC committee worked together with their Business Units to celebrate these achievements.

Mark’s seven-day lunch/dinner menu creations received great feedback from staff, many of whom were introduced to this kind of cuisine for the first time. Some employees were also lucky to meet Mark on the first day of the menu’s launch, and win autographed copies of his Outback Cafe cookbook.

Mark is pictured above with some of the Crown kitchen team, who assisted in implementing the NAIDOC menu.

Mark with the Tourism Australia team

Mark Olive was recently invited to Tourism Australia’s ‘Indigenous Success Stories’ dinner, as part of the Australian Tourism Exchange in Adelaide (June 2010). Mark played a special role as Master of Ceremonies for the evening, and also designed the menu which was inspired by his signature indigenous fusions. His gourmet fare indulgently fed over 80 key industry guests and performers, each one receiving a personally signed copy of Mark’s ’Outback Cafe’ cookbook.

‘Indigenous Tourism Dinner a Standout Success’
(Article and images from Tourism Australia)

The Indigenous Success Stories Dinner Event, held during Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE) week, was attended by over 80 key industry people and received support from some of our most prominent Indigenous entertainers and celebrities.  At the event many of TA’s recently announced ‘Indigenous Tourism Champions’ networked with some of the world’s most influential international tour wholesalers.

Emma Donovan & Adrian Petlevanny entertain the crowd

Guests enjoyed tantalising treats dished up by renowned Chef, Mark ‘the Black’ Olive. Emma Donovan sang, sharing a deeply moving insight into Aboriginal culture with her rich soulful voice. Former Bangarra Dancer, Albert David showed his mesmerising dance moves, John Packham Kartinyeri from Tandanya played the didgeridoo, and Auntie Josie offered an engaging welcome to country.

TA’s Experiences Project Manager – Indigenous Tourism, Kristi O’Brien, organised the event and said “one highlight of the evening was the unveiling of some inspirational new film footage and photographic images from a recent photo shoot across Indigenous Australia.

John Packham Kartinyeri

The amazing imagery, shot by photographer James Fisher had a major impact, showing the quality and diversity of experiences of offer.”

Over half of the Indigenous tourism businesses who were represented at ATE are part of the Indigenous Tourism Champions Program (ITCP).  This intensive marketing, business development and mentoring program is funded by Indigenous Business Australia and Tourism Australia, with mentoring being delivered by Dhatom Tourism Consultants. The joint program was set up to ensure Indigenous owned tourism businesses continue to grow and meet the needs of the tourism industry and consumers.

The Indigenous Tourism Champions initiative, now in its second phase, will facilitate significant exposure for some of our most established Indigenous tourism products, and it is expected that this will enhance the saleability of the entire sector.

To learn more about the ATE click here.

To learn more about the Indigenous Tourism Champions, click here.

Tourism Australia together with Melbourne Convention & Visitors Bureau and two local Singapore agents hosted the networking event, which was aimed at promoting Australia as a Business Events destination to corporate clients based in Singapore.

The evening cocktail event was held in the kitchen studio at the Asian Food Channel (AFC), a regional cable channel which is broadcast widely in the South East Asia region.

Mark engaged the audience with his fabulously entertaining cooking demonstration, preparing a range of his signature Australian native infused canapés and signing a copy of his cookbook for each guest.

They, along with around 100 other high profile people, were invited to be part of Tourism Australia’s Friends of Australia program, developed “to harness the power of bright and influential individuals who are making a name for themselves on the world stage, and who have a genuine affinity with Australia”, says  Andrew McEvoy, Managing Director of Tourism Australia.

The 100 Friends of Australia include sporting stars, fashion designers, environmentalists, entrepreneurs and artists, and some very influential high-achievers and opinion leaders – from Australia and overseas. They were all invited to Sydney in March 2010 to attend the program’s launch at the Shangri-La Hotel, overlooking Sydney Harbour. “I’m extremely passionate about our local produce, particularly the wine and food we have on offer in Australia”, says Mark, an advocate of Tourism Australia.

Mark and the other ‘Friends’ will help represent and promote Australia at local and international events as part of this ‘word of mouth initiative’.

View the other Friends_of_Australia.

Our June sweet special… from Ricky North

BASE
1 packet of plain sweet biscuits
170gm melted butter

FILLING
1 x 400ml tin condensed milk
Juice of 2 lemons
3 level teaspoons of gelatine
¼ cup boiling water

TOPPING
500ml cranberry juice
1 sachet gelatine
250gm muntrie berries

Base: Mix crushed biscuits with the melted butter. Press firmly into a slab tin and place in the fridge until cold and set.

Filling: Mix the gelatine into the boiling water and stir until dissolved. In a medium bowl, blend condensed milk, lemon juice and gelatine mixture. Spread over the prepared base and refrigerate until set.

Topping: Simmer cranberry juice in a saucepan, then whisk in the gelatine until completely mixed. Allow to cool til room temperature. Place berries on the prepared base, then pour the jelly mix over the berries. Place in fridge to set, then cut into squares to serve.

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Ricky North’s cooking career began at the old Flamin’ Bull, Bush Food Restaurant in Carlton, Victoria. Since starting with Black Olive Catering in 2008, Ricky has been taken on a journey around Australia with Mark, assisting to showcase indigenous cuisine at the Garma Festival and other events.

Ricky is a wiz in the kitchen, especially when it comes to cakes and desserts!