A Taste of Kakadu: First Food Festival

May is a time of great abundance in Kakadu National Park, with the region bursting with fresh food and bush tucker delicacies from barramundi to magpie goose. To celebrate the feasting season, Kakadu is holding its first-ever Indigenous cuisine festival – ‘A Taste of Kakadu’ between 12 to 21 May 2017.

The ‘Taste of Kakadu’ Festival will showcase Kakadu’s most famous produce, including the world’s first-ever super food, the Kakadu plum, as well as providing opportunities for visitors to interact with Kakadu’s local Indigenous people.

For over 50,000 years, Kakadu’s Bininj/Mungguy people have lived in harmony with this ancient natural landscape. Today, traditions are given a modern twist and there are flavours that you’ll find nowhere else on Earth.

Some of the events include:

Unique bushland dining event – Saturday 20 May, 2017, 4.30–9.00 pm
Feast on locally-sourced native produce at an exclusive ten-course degustation, prepared by leading pop-up dining team Fervor. You’ll be whisked away to a secret outdoor location in Kakadu, where delicious dishes will be prepared before your eyes by chef Paul ‘Yoda’ Iskov and his team. Fervor’s one-off dining events are set in pristine landscapes across Australia, from salt lakes to idyllic beaches. Experience Kakadu’s bushland like never before with this intimate combination of food, culture and Country.
Where: Pick up and drop off at Mercure Crocodile Hotel
Price: $200 per person
Places available: 40

Master class with Indigenous celebrity chef, Zach Green
Monday 15 and Tuesday 16 May, 2017, 4.00–5.00 pm
“Food is the greatest connector of them all” — Zach Green
Come and learn the stories of one thousand generations from Indigenous celebrity chef Zach Green. Zach will show you how to incorporate native foods into everyday cuisine, in a way that celebrates Indigenous cultures and gets to the heart of what Indigenous food culture is all about.
Where: Mercure Crocodile Hotel
Price: Free

Champagne evening cruise and canapes
Monday 15, Tuesday 16 and Thursday 18 May, 2017, 5.00–6.30 pm
What’s a sunset without champagne?
Well… pretty amazing at Kakadu, but with champagne, on a boat, it’s truly an out-of-this world adventure.
Celebrity chef Sharon Windsor will prepare canapes alongside the champagne.
Proudly supported by Cooinda Lodge.
Where: Cooinda Lodge
Price: $90 per person

Tuckeroo: Kids mini master chef competition
Sunday 14 May, 2017, 12.00 noon to 2.00 pm
“Food preparation lessons start young in Bininj culture. We are always around food, learning hunting and finding yams and man me.” See how much local Bininj youngsters know in this epic battle of the mini-master chefs! What will the kids do with native food ingredients to impress the panel – including an Indigenous celebrity chef, a native food expert and the Mangrook Footy Show’s own Leila Gurruwiwi? Make sure you don’t miss out on this live-streamed event.
Where: Mercure Crocodile Hotel
Price: Free

Traditional brunch
Thursday 18 May, 2017, 10 am to 12 noon
Join local Bininj woman Mandy Muir and Ngemba Indigenous chef Sharon Windsor for a traditional brunch. For the first time Indigenous women from the south and the north of Australia will combine forces to prepare a two course brunch for Kakadu visitors. Come and share in the incredible stories of two legendary women, who have extensive Indigenous connections across the world, through their love of native food.
Where: Jim Jim Billabong
Price: $44 per person ($40 + $4 booking fee)
Places available: 40

Bininj harvesting
Tuesday 16 May, 2017, 9.00 am to 12.00 noon
Never before have both Jesse Alderson and Patsy Raglar invited visitors into Patonga Homestead to forage for their native ingredients. Come and spend the morning with these incredible senior Bininj women as they search for yam, honeybag, and other native foods. It is a very unique opportunity to participate in Bininj harvesting activities, handed down through thousands of generations.
Where: Jim Jim Billabong Safari Camp
Price: Free Places available: 40

Bush breakfast – Wednesday 17 May, 2017, 8.00 am
Cooinda Lodges’ resident Chef will take his team’s cooking skills outside for this special breakfast event.
Come and Taste Kakadu for breakfast following the Yellow Water Cruise.
Where: Cooinda Lodge, Bistro
Price: $20
How to book: Bookings through Cooinda Lodge

More details can be found here – https://parksaustralia.gov.au/kakadu/taste/