Is the BBQ the answer to the elusive search for an Australian Cuisine?

 

Australia Day brings out our iconic foods of lamingtons, pavlovas, and meat pies – dishes that will continue to be reinterpreted over and over. 

Australian traditional food is the result of Australian history.  It has a foundation of British cooking from the settlers; Asian, European and Middle Eastern ingredients from migrants and travellers; with native Australian ingredients on the rise.  Add some great weather and easy lifestyle, and you’ve got yourself a recipe for distinctly Australian cuisine.

However, the elusive search still goes on. Trying to define an Australian cuisine isn't easy, as I discovered when writing 'ALFRESHCO foreshore flavour' as there are of course many factors to consider, most importantly our outdoor culture.  So for this post, I'm going for the 'barbie' since Aussies have always tried to claim the BBQ as our own where it is considered traditional, if not sacred.

A common factor uniting the barbequing world, whether born in Australia or elsewhere is that it's mainly the men who do the cooking.  And as they do so, they talk.  Richard White, Australian historian and author of 'Inventing Australia', says "Australian men aren't known for their ease at social chat. Beyond the footy scores and house prices, even a soulless electrical grill appears to have the ability to stir genuine yarning and conversation in the way a campfire might once have done."

We've had a tendency for everyday backyard cookout fare  'to cook the food, hot and fast on the grill'.  "We've probably been brought up with the burnt sausage and well-done steak," Australasian BBQ Alliance Co-founder, Adam Roberts, said.  "Whoever was doing the BBQ probably said, 'That's the way I like them'; when in reality they've just stuffed it up."

The Aussie BBQ has evolved; these days tong-wielding enthusiasts are embracing global influences, turning down the heat, and transforming the humble backyard barbie into another excuse to pit mate against mate in healthy competition.

Summarised from ALFRESHCO, foreshore flavour