Dinnertime dreaming

THE best way to get to know people is by their food,” Rodney Dillon told the people gathered around the palawa fire pit at Dark Mofo’s Winter Feast.

And he and the other hosts went on to make giant strides in that regard. On their own, the stories — moving and funny by turn — entertained while they increased immeasurably the audience’s appreciation of the palawa — an indigenous word encompassing all the Tasmanian Aboriginal people.

The food — five courses of the most refined camp food ever — featuring wildcaught seafoods and coastal greens put together by Asher Gilding and Franca Zingler, could easily stand up as an event on its own. The stories and food together are magic. The fire pit is something of a testing ground for a way to establish tourism experience that speaks to Aboriginal connections with country through culture, fisheries and food.

One of the movers behind the event, palawa woman Emma Lee, has a doctorate in regional development. She is continuing at Swinburne University a project looking at establishing a market for cultural fisheries in Tasmania.

When I spoke to her before the first event last Friday she was looking forward to it with excitement and a little trepidation. “It’s going to get deep and personal,” she said. “But with fire and a feed what can go wrong?”

This was the first time Aborigine wildcatch fisheries had been served to the public, she told the 25 or so people circled around the fire seated on benches covered in kangaroo-skin.

“It’s okay to ask questions: it’s okay to wonder the hell you are doing here,” she added.

Her personal story included being so poor when she was growing up that they had to survive on crayfish sandwiches.

A good stock of muttonbirds was not regarded as “proper” food when the welfare came check on the children.

The same loaf of white sliced bread came out of the freezer when such visits were made and was put back again for the next time.

Rodney Dillon comes from Nichols Rivulet, near Cygnet, but he is a blow-in. His family has been there for “only” five generations — descended from Fanny Cochrane.

While we ate a soup of scallops, warrener, mussels, smoked fish and coastal plants he told of getting into trouble as a boy by asking the priest why the church was built on stolen land.

Much of his familiarity with the Supreme Court comes from his run-ins with authorities over his stand for Aboriginal hunting and fishing rights.

Tasmanian legislation allows indigenous people to catch high-value species, such as abalone and crayfish, under permits, but restricts use of the catch to family, cultural and ceremonial events.

Two young men spent three days diving for the seafood for the first three Palawa gatherings.

The community has its eye on the 40 units of fishers licence at the State Government’s disposal (each unit allows a catch of about 300kg).

Rodney says it would be a better use of those units “to show people our culture and our history in our own country” than to export the catch.

From a standing start — Asher Gilding’s knowledge of native foods was restricted to use as “flavourings and spice” and Franca Zingler, comes from Germany and trained in patisserie — the two from Port Cygnet Catering Company have built up expertise working with Aboriginal guides and collectors to present native foods.

This one started with a with oyster with a dash of cream flavoured with eucalyptus and alpine mint and sea celery. After the soup came abalone with bull kelp and saltbush.

And then the best wallaby I’ve ever tasted. It was from Bruny Island Game Meats and grilled over open coals (not the ones in the fire pit) and served with a bread made with wattle seed and honey, and spread with hazelnut, kunzea and honey butter.

Finally, a marshmallow with mountain pepper and leatherwood honey on a stick so it could be toasted over fire pit. Who knew?

I remember an attempt, years ago, to promote muttonbirds, as a business for the Aboriginal community. It failed to fly. This integrated approach of serving the stories and the food together seems a much surer way.

Sorry, it is waiting list only for the remaining Palawa fire pit sessions when the Winter Feast returns on Thursday.