Australian Cuisine: A Gastronomic Journey Via Sustainable, High-Quality Produce

Australian Cuisine: A Gastronomic Sustainable, High-Quality Produce

By Kathleen Pokrud
Photos by Jenny Chan and Teresa Biesty

Australian cuisine is modern and flavourful as it reflects the diversity and multicultural community across its vast continent. The country is home to the oldest continuous culture on Earth that dates back 60,000 years to when First Nations peoples utilized the resources of the lands and waters. I sat down with HE Ambassador Dr Angela Macdonald and Executive Chef Daniel Masters of The Standard Bangkok Mahanakhon to learn about the food culture in Australia and how Australian fresh produce has made its mark as high-quality ingredients for consumers in Thailand and beyond.

Modern Australian, or “Mod Oz” as its commonly known, describes the fusion and contemporary style of various cooking techniques drawn from across Australia’s history and multicultural communities. Ambassador Macdonald began byhighlighting the influence from waves of migration over the years. “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples used indigenous ingredients such as finger limes, bush tomatoes, kangaroos, crocodiles and emus,” she said. “With the British settlers in the late 18th century, the significant migration from across Europe in the post-World War II era and Asian immigrants beginning to arrive in the 1980s, Australian cuisine has become a melting pot of international food culture, using locally sourced ingredients.”

"Australia, a vast continent and world’s largest island, has a wide range of climates, from the warm tropical north to the cooler southern regions. There’s a lot the country can grow and produce as Australia is a reputable supplier of high-quality agricultural products. Today, we have many food movements that emphasise sustainability, such as the idea of ‘paddock to plate’. Ambassador Macdonald said, ” It's about knowing every step your food takes from the ground to your dining table. In terms of our exports, overseas consumers buy Australian produce because they have confidence in knowing that tremendous effort has been taken in terms of research and development to make the farming processes sustainable.”

Southeast Asia is one of the fastest-growing markets for Australian agricultural exports. 2022 saw a record value of Australian agricultural exports to ASEAN, worth A$17.5 billion. These exports include commodities that are critical to food supply chains in the region such as wheat for bakery items, pasta and noodles, barley for beer and sugar for confectionery manufacturing. Australian wine, meat and dairy products also supply the retail and hospitality sectors.

At The Standard Bangkok Mahanakhon, we observed three beautiful dishes showcasing Australian produce by Executive Chef Daniel Masters – who is also Australian. These included Fremantle Octopus, the highest-quality octopus in the world thatcan only be sourced in the clear pristine waters off the Western Australia coastline. It adheres to the highest sustainability standards and has graced the plates of millions of people, including some of the most renowned restaurants in Australia and around the world.

Next was Glacier 51 Toothfish, also known as Patagonian toothfish. It comes from the Australian sub-Antarctic territory around Heard Island, more than 4,000 km from mainland Australia. It is handled with care and respect, along with the best science that supports environmentally sustainable fishing. The third dish was CopperTree Farms Chateaubriand Roast. As an Australian owned and operated fine food company, CopperTree Farms' high-quality meat is natural, carbon-neutral and antibiotic-free. CopperTree Farms uses matured, retired Friesian stud dairy cows that have been exposed to renewable, sustainable and regenerative farming practices.

Chef Masters said, “My culinary mentor and easily Australia’s most acclaimed chef, Neil Perry puts it best, ‘Good produce is the cornerstone of good cooking.’ Australia produces such a vast array of the highest quality ingredients; it is great to see so many of them side by side with the incredible ingredients available here in Thailand. The Thai market can see the value in good produce and really appreciates what Australian ingredients bring to their restaurants and home tables. Foodiva and ThammachartSeafoods are both great suppliers that support us here at The Standard and Australian ingredients on the whole.”

Ambassador Macdonald reflected that, “It is important to credit the Australian chefs. As masters of their craft, many artisan chefs have created memorable dishes internationally using Australian ingredients. The first Thai restaurant to be awarded with a Michelin Star was started by an Australian chef, David Thompson. Another example was how late Australian chef Bill Granger helped to popularize in Bangkok the regular Australian brunch dish, ‘Smashed avocado on toast’.”

The Ambassador shared that a typical Australian dish is hard to define. “In a cosmopolitan city like Sydney, there are many options to choose from. It could be a kebab after a football game or pizza for a Friday night takeaway. Some traditional Australian foods that have history behind them include Lamington cake or Anzac biscuits. Often how a traditional Australian dish is defined will reflect the ancestry or heritage of the person you ask.”

Ambassador Macdonald shared an interesting tradition around election days in Australia when people vote. Voting stations are often set up at schools, kindergartens and community centres,and often, the local school will arrange fundraising activities through food stands. A bun or a piece of bread with a barbecued sausage, fried onions and a tangy sauce is uniquely called by locals as the ‘democracy sausage’.

As our interview drew to a close, it became evident that Australian food - whether it be King Island Brie, Queensland fruit or Australian beef and lamb – is undoubtedly delicious andvalued for the environment its sourced from. For those in Thailand and the broader region, we’re so fortunate to be able to enjoy it too.

Key Representative Dishes

Roast Lamb: a popular Aussie dish often served with roast or steamed vegetables. Australian lamb, known for its tenderness and mild flavour, even has a marketing campaign dedicated to eating it on Australia Day.

Meat Pie: a shortcrust pastry usually filled with beef, diced onion, gravy, mushroom and sometimes cheese. What makes anAustralian meat pie unique is its size, allowing it to be enjoyed without any utensils – such as at sporting matches.

Pavlova: a meringue-based dessert with a soft, light interior and a crisp outer shell, topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit.

Lamingtons: sponge cakes coated in chocolate and desiccated coconut. These bite-sized treats are a classic feature at anAustralian morning or afternoon tea.

Vegemite: a spread often enjoyed on toast or crackers with butter. It has a salty and savoury flavour often described as umami, so its use extends to soups, noodles and marinades. Vegemite is often regarded as an iconic Australian food.

Anzac Biscuits: representing a slice of Australia and New Zealand history, they are often made for ANZAC Day, a national day of remembrance for soldiers who have fought and died in the line of duty. Historically these biscuits were baked and sent to soldiers because the ingredients do not spoil easily.

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Australian Cuisine: A Gastronomic Journey Via Sustainable, High-Quality Produce

Kathleen Pokrud 134 Posts

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