What is more fitting for summer lunch on an island continent than fresh seafood? Because my chef brother-in-law is also a keen diver, our family meals are often brimming with whole fish, abalone, clams and crayfish. How lucky are we? The beauty of working …

I recently spent my weekend collecting and cooking shellfish in the pristine waters of southern Tasmania. It’s a pastime I really enjoy. Collecting shellfish provides a strong connection with nature and requires observation and an understanding of …

My yardstick for a refreshing drink is whether you would drink it while playing tennis. Even though tennis is a game I haven’t played since I was 16, the courtside drink that comes to mind always contained some smashed fruit with a high water content. …

In south-west Victoria, where I grew up, there is evidence of this country’s early forms of aquaculture practised on Gunditjmara land in the form of elaborate eel traps and runs believed to have been developed up to 8000 years ago. This sight has since …

In cooking, sometimes convenience is key. I now focus about 25 per cent of my time in the kitchen on building a larder of fermented, dried and smoked goods that add depth of flavour in varying forms of acid and salt. The result yields a benefit not only …

Possibly the best part of a broad bean is the leaf. But most often it is simply discarded, as usually the plant is grown purely for the bean to be picked at the height of ripeness and served fresh. I love cooking with everything the plant throws at me …

Radishes have a great capacity to work across several applications, from accompanying raw fish dishes to being used in salads to being roasted with meat cuts. But the aspect I like best is the mustard element that runs through them all. Japanese radish …

“Even milk has seasonality. Developments in agriculture that have seen variation diminish can be seen in both a positive and negative light. However, the difference in a milk from a spring pasture should be celebrated. Ricotta is a very, very simple thing …”

“I was lucky enough to recently find myself on an immense cattle station in the Gulf of Carpentaria with a group of friends. We camped, fished, hunted and gathered among the broad biodiversity that existed on the property. As it was the end of the wet …”