A celebration of culture and cuisine drew crowds to the Hervey Bay Hospital cafeteria during NAIDOC Week, with a special menu of native-inspired dishes selling out daily and leaving customers asking for more.
The week-long offering, developed as a passion project by the hospital’s dedicated kitchen team, showcased traditional ingredients like saltbush, finger lime, wattleseed, lemon myrtle and pepperberry.
Each day featured a new dish or several highlighting the diversity and richness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flavours.
From Monday’s Barramundi Sliders with Saltbush Mayo to Friday’s Lemon Myrtle Cheesecake, the menu reflected thoughtful research, cultural respect, and a lot of hard work behind the scenes.
The team spent extra hours preparing each element, sourcing specialty ingredients, and fine-tuning flavours in the lead-up to NAIDOC Week.
Manager Food Services WBHHS Stanley Pennant said our chefs really poured their hearts into the project.
“They were so passionate about honouring First Nations culture through food,” he said.
“The positive feedback from staff and visitors made it all worth it.”
Mental Health Unit Chef Brian Jencke said it was a project he felt strongly about.
“Food is a powerful way of bringing people together and is also the perfect starting point for conversation,” he said.
“I was able to integrate and showcase native Australian ingredients in a way that appealed to everyone.
“There were a lot of questions about the ingredients, what they were and where to get them.
“That’s the conversation starter! We have a culture and history here in Australia that deserves to be spoken about.”
If you want to try out the recipes at home, you can download a printable PDF here.