Bush to Bowl is a 100% Aboriginal owned food and education social enterprise, aimed at creating a healing space and platform for First Nations people by connecting to Country and their traditional foodways.
In a new partnership, the School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport is working with Bush to Bowl to introduce Aboriginal food culture to students.
“We worked with Bush to Bowl across multiple subjects in the Bachelor of Food and Nutrition to ensure culturally safe teaching of Aboriginal food culture and ingredients, delivered by traditional knowledge holders," says Dr Annie Lassemillante, Senior Lecturer in Food, Nutrition and Dietetics.
“We often have students commenting that Australia has no food culture. Now there is a lot to unpack here but Australia has one of the oldest food cultures in the world.”
Bachelor of Food and Nutrition student, Emma Prior, said it was her first time cooking with native flours and ingredients.
“We designed two dishes using native Australian ingredients. The first was Chocolate Wattle Seed Crêpes with Lemon Myrtle Cream, Lemon Thyme Glaze and Caramelised Pear. We incorporated Mitchell and button grass flour alongside wheat flour in the crêpes, which gave them an earthy, nutty flavour and a more rustic texture.”
She said the program challenged her assumptions about bush foods.
“I had previously thought of them as symbolic rather than something that could be part of everyday healthy eating. I also underestimated the diversity of flavours, techniques and traditional knowledge within Aboriginal foodways.”
“This experience gave me a deeper appreciation of their relevance for modern nutrition practice, while also highlighting how little they are represented in mainstream nutrition education.”
Bush to Bowl co-founder, Clarence Bruinsma, says the social enterprise is focused on creating spaces where people can engage with Australia’s native plants and traditional foodways.
"We're trying to change the narrative around bush tucker foods,” he adds. “The food industry is a multi-million-dollar industry, but Aboriginal people only represent 1% of it," he explains.
“By collaborating with La Trobe, we are helping students connect to Aboriginal culture and heritage through native plants and foods. We're also building knowledge about the commercialisation of bush tucker foods and bringing Aboriginal people along on that journey, so we can all learn together."
When asked what he hopes students take away from the experience, Clarence emphasises the importance of curiosity.
"It's about planting a seed. We want students to come away from this subject hungry to learn more. I hope they feel interested to explore Aboriginal culture further," he says.
