Dining Downunder Cookbook by Vic Cherikoff & Benjamin Christie

Accompanying the popular Australian TV series, Dining Downunder™, The Dining Downunder Cookbook is a journey of three chefs across Australia, looking at our contemporary Australian cuisine, cooking with indigenous ingredients and sharing their passion of an authentic Australian food style.

Chefs Vic Cherikoff, Benjamin Christie and Mark McCluskey crank up the BBQ off the back of a boat in a sheltered bay in Sydney Harbour, travel to the valleys of the Blue Mountains in NSW, pop over to Margaret River in our far west or see what Australian ginger is all about up in the Queensland hinterland. The culinary delights of Australia are a lot more than just the promotional chefs over whom the general press is obsessed and Dining Downunder™ tracks down the quiet achievers, the dedicated and the low key stars of the Australian food industry. And it’s all in the book.

There’s Cherikoff’s introduction to the Australian native food industry which he pioneered back in the 1980s, commercializing a collection of ingredients following their Aboriginal origins. Then the book features a foreword by Australian entrepreneur, Dick Smith.

Australian native fruits, seeds, nuts, herbs, spices, essential oils and products made from them, are emerging as a trend in the global marketplace. Together, they make a uniquely Australian cuisine possible with flavours that reflect their geographic origins of deep rainforests, outback deserts, coastal woodlands and alpine valleys.

With over ninety beautifully photographed recipes from the show, The Dining Downunder Cookbook provides a visual feast for the senses and includes detailed descriptions on how to use the many native ingredients including Wattleseed, Paperbark, Riberry Confit, Alpine Pepper, Lemon Myrtle, Fruit Spice, Wildfire Spice, Red Desert Dust and Rainforest Rub. Also featured are recipes from the select restaurants the chefs visit. Those who frequently entertain at home as passionate cooks or are gourmands looking for the next food trend and new ingredients will find The Dining Downunder Cookbook a must and will appreciate the easy to follow recipes and informative guides, including the secrets of an Australian BBQ.