Today, Condé Nast Traveler's Matt Ortile is joined in Australia by Gayle Kabaker, artist for The New Yorker, to undertake an adventure of the country’s finest food, wine, and coffee. Whether you’re fine dining overlooking the Sydney Opera House or enjoying locally sourced seafood in Tasmania, Australia has a thriving culinary scene waiting to be discovered.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00As a travel editor, I visit Australia over and over again because each time is always
00:06different and exciting.
00:07For this trip, I'm traveling with an artist for The New Yorker, Gail Kavaker.
00:12Artists are naturally curious travelers, and I want to see this place I know and love through
00:17her eyes.
00:18See you in Sydney in the morning.
00:19Come and say g'day with us.
00:22They say it's dressed for the dog you want.
00:28After a luxurious and relaxing flight with Qantas, Gail and I wake up in Sydney, refreshed
00:32and ready to explore.
00:34Good morning.
00:35Good morning.
00:36Welcome to the land of Gadigal people.
00:38We head to Hickson Road Reserve in the Rocks for a welcome to country ceremony led by
00:42Auntie Margaret, Aboriginal elder and guide.
00:45This is a really special way to be welcomed to the story of Australia.
00:51It immediately connects us with the 65,000 year old culture that's still alive today.
00:56From our grandfathers who carried this sacred fire.
00:59That's the story of that intelligence up there today.
01:03Thank you very much.
01:05I'm feeling really moved.
01:06Are you?
01:07Very moved and very excited visually.
01:09The idea of traveling, giving myself permission to draw whatever I want.
01:15So exciting.
01:16Travel helps you see things differently, and I love that.
01:26Dinner is at Quay.
01:27It's one of the world's best restaurants with the world's best view.
01:30Wow.
01:31We have a beautiful kind of celebration of spring and Australian ingredients.
01:35So for you, sir, we have a wild fallow deer venison, and for you we have roasted maitake
01:40mushrooms.
01:41On top is all kind of heirloom greens that we get grown for Quay by Newcastle Greens
01:46from the coast of New South Wales.
01:48This is so gorgeous.
01:51Thank you very much.
01:52Almost the way that I think of a painting as a composition of light and dark and value.
01:58It's like a palette I would paint in.
02:00It's so beautiful.
02:01I can't wait to paint it.
02:02Oh my God.
02:03Oh my God.
02:04Chef Peter actually has a farm in Tasmania.
02:07Gail and I are actually going to Tasmania very soon.
02:09It's an amazing place to grow food.
02:12Whoa.
02:13Amazing.
02:14Oh my goodness.
02:15Next stop.
02:16Tasmania.
02:17There are so many places to enjoy incredible food in Australia, but I wanted to take Gail
02:21to a spot that's becoming known as one of the most exciting and creative culinary destinations
02:25in the world for talented young chefs.
02:27Hi.
02:28Welcome to Tasmania.
02:29Annalise Gregory is one of these chefs.
02:31So what's your order?
02:32Flat white.
02:33Flat white.
02:34Very Australian.
02:35Australia is the birthplace of the flat white, a simple blend of espresso and steamed milk
02:40that just hits different here.
02:41So Annalise, I'm curious.
02:43There's been this culinary trend for a long time.
02:45I'm curious.
02:46There's been this culinary renaissance here and you're a big part of that.
02:49Why did you choose to build your culinary life here?
02:51Tassie definitely like punches above its weight in a culinary sense for its size.
02:56I think it's a combination of the cold climate, things grow slowly.
02:59There's a lot of like small farmers doing really great work.
03:02Everything really just tastes of what it's meant to.
03:05Where are we going next?
03:06I'm going to take you to a local favorite, which is Lucinda Wine Bar.
03:09And then we're going to head down to the country to do some foraging and maybe even get in
03:14the ocean.
03:15Wow.
03:16Oh, that's so exciting.
03:17I can't wait.
03:18Lucinda Wine Bar has a wonderful array of local wines.
03:20Oh, that's a good noise.
03:21It's a good noise.
03:22It's good.
03:23A little Chardonnay.
03:24Cheers.
03:25Cheers.
03:26Cheers guys.
03:28You're welcome.
03:29Oh my God.
03:30Good.
03:31We've got some oysters from Boomer Bay.
03:32It's about 40 minutes away.
03:34That's the taste of the Tasmanian Ocean.
03:36And that's how like clean and briny and beautiful it is.
03:39I feel the same way about a lot of the produce around here.
03:43It's like, you know, you're tasting the environment.
03:45You know, on that note, it feels like with Australia's diversity of culinary landscapes,
03:50you know, you have the great restaurants of Sydney, the coffee culture of Melbourne, here
03:54in Tassie with all this fresh produce.
03:56I mean, everywhere.
03:57Because Australia, climactically and landscape wise, is so diverse and so different, there's
04:02all these pockets of great things everywhere.
04:04That's sort of how I view Australia.
04:08We head out to forage with Annalise in the Huon Valley.
04:11So what are you looking for out here, Annalise?
04:14Kind of whatever might be around.
04:15Grey solebush, which lives by the ocean.
04:17And some coonsia.
04:18Yeah.
04:19So this is very tea tree-esque.
04:20Oh, yeah.
04:21This is just soft and delicious to use in things.
04:24Well, in addition to the beautiful herbs, what are we having tonight?
04:28This could be a good spot to dive for abalone, so I'm going to put my wetsuit on and go have
04:32a look.
04:33Good luck.
04:34Well, we managed to foster cup some dinner from the ocean.
04:38Absolutely.
04:39That is amazing.
04:41It's so beautiful.
04:42It seems absolutely incredible that you just swam for your dinner, and you're cooking it
04:49now.
04:50And this is the life that you have manifested and created for yourself.
04:54And here we are.
04:55So these are scallops with wild wakame butter, cooked on the fire.
05:00Fantastic.
05:01And then this is a green garlic aioli made with the spring garlic.
05:04Also, while I was diving, I found some sea urchins.
05:07Are you interested to try some fresh sea urchin?
05:10Absolutely.
05:11So I will get some scissors.
05:12And the best way I like to clean them is also in the seawater, straight out of the ocean
05:17at the bottom of the world.
05:18Oh, my God.
05:19Can't beat that either.
05:21So that's what that's supposed to taste like.
05:23What a find.
05:24Salty, briny ocean.
05:26I'm kind of at a loss for words.
05:28I'm actually feeling a little teary.
05:30I wasn't sure if that was the smoke from the fire.
05:32No, it's not the smoke.
05:34I feel like my eyes have been opened in a way today of experiencing food that it relates
05:42to how I paint.
05:43It's the colors.
05:44It's the presentation.
05:46It's the process.
05:48This is so incredibly special.
05:50Only here in Australia can we feel this all together.
05:54Well, cheers.
05:56Cheers.
05:57My big takeaway is that no matter what your passion is, Australia is the place that allows
06:01you to connect with it in a deeper way.
06:04Next stop, Kangaroo Island.