MAALINUP

The Maalinup Bush Foods Experience

Our medicine is our food - Dale Tilbrook

NATIVE INGREDIENTS HAVE BEEN A GROWING TREND IN BAR SCENES AROUND THE WORLD FOR SEVERAL YEARS AS WE BEGAN SEARCHING IN OUR BACKYARDS FOR NEW FLAVOURS AND INSPIRATION. SPIRITS, SOFT DRINKS AND SYRUPS HAVE ALL BEEN HEAVILY INFLUENCED, AND PREVIOUSLY WHAT WERE EXOTIC INGREDIENTS LIKE LEMON MYRTLE AND BUSH TOMATOES HAVE NOW BECOME HOUSEHOLD NAMES. MOST BARTENDERS ARE NOW AWARE OF THEIR FLAVOUR PROFILES AND HOW TO UTILISE THEM IN A COCKTAIL LIST. THE EXCHANGE BRAND AMBASSADOR BRENDAN GREY CURATED A DAY FOR PERTH BARTENDERS AND TRAVELED TO THE MAALINUP GALLERY IN THE SWAN VALLEY. THEY SPENT THE DAY LEARNING ABOUT THE NGOONGAR CULTURE, BUSH FOODS AND THE HERITAGE.

However, this is only half the story. Behind the fun facts about antioxidants and vitamin levels, is culture and story going back thousands of years, lovingly passed down generation after generation. Finding someone to teach this side of the story can sometimes be a challenge, but luckily for the Perth scene they have Dale Tilbrook.

Dale is a descendant of the Wardandi Bibbulmun people from the south-west of Western Australia. Her journey started in 1996 with a small company making returning boomerangs. In 1998 she opened her first Aboriginal gallery and gift shop in the Swan Valley, moving to larger premises in 2004. Education is an important part of Dale’s cultural journey. She has worked extensively with students of all ages through school excursions and incursions, Kings Park education programmes and corporate groups. Dale is passionate about bush food. She has established a bush tucker garden; gives talks on bush food; stocks a huge range of bush food products; and creates fusion recipes using ingredients from the bush.

Earlier this year bartenders from several venues across Perth travelled with The Exchange Brand Ambassador Brendan Scott Grey up into the Swan Valley to the Maalinup Gallery. They went to learn from Dale and her brother, Lyall about Nyoongar culture and the incredible bush foods their families have cultivated for generations. The groups were treated to a smorgasbord of local produce whilst Dale regaled them with stories of her childhood and Nyoongar history. The sessions concluded with a meal of Kangaroo sausage rolls with bush tomato chutney and Wilarak - sandalwood chocolate spread for dessert. Dale and Lyall stretched preconceptions and palates through tales of tuber plantations that once grew along the Swan River and of the six seasons in Nyoongar culture that dictated traditional diets.

Maalingup Gallery is located 35 minutes out of Perth and is a ‘must-do’ trip for those looking for native produce with chat equal to the most charismatic of our bartending brethren.

Contact The Exchange Ambassador, Brendan Grey for more information and details.