The History of the Aussie Icon THE BARBECUE

The barbecue is a national icon on the Australianadvertisement sees Hogan enticing visitors to
landscape but the humble barbecue has a long historyAustralia with a traditional Australian barbecue and the
in Australia. Not only will you find a barbecue in mostnow famous catch phrase “I’ll put a shrimp
homes but also in wide range of locations around theon the barbie”.
country. Governments and businesses ownersToday Australia’s bbq culture is changing again.
understand peoples love for a barbecue and haveAustralian’s are become more educated on
accommodated for this throughout our communities.cuisine and cooking and their palates are much more
You can find a barbecue at a:sophisticated. Burnt sausages and chops are now
-          Caravan parkbeing replaced with gourmet sausages, marinated
-          Camping sitesteaks and fresh seafood which are all cooked to
-          National parkperfection and served with complimenting gourmet
-          Local parksalads and wines.
-          Business sitesBut even though tastes are changing Australian’s
-          Beachare still keen on maintaining a connection with their
Traditional Aboriginal cooking always involved the usecountry and their history. This trend has filtrated into
of a traditional barbecue – outdoor cooking overour restaurants and cafes as “bush
a fire or hot coals. They would also use the earth totucker”flavours are making more appearances on
create earth ovens. The first fleet brought with themmenus. Some of these include:
traditional English style ovens but it could be assumed-          Wattle Seeds
that the extreme heat of the Australian landscape-          Karrajong Flowers
enticed them to search for alternative cooking-          Lilly Pilly Berries
methods outside. That combined with lessons from-          Quandon (wild peach)
the local Aboriginals would have led to the humble-          Lemon Myrtle
barbecue being born.-          Pepper Leaf
Australian’s have always been aware of the-          Kakadu Plum
strong cultural reference the BBQ has, but the worldNext time you’re planning the menu for your
was introduced to this through an advertisingtraditional Australian barbecue why not add some
campaign featuring Paul Hogan. The 1986traditional flavours and ingredients.