Indigenous food adventure on the menu

A DEGUSTATION dinner with a difference featuring six courses of indigenous food representing the six annual Aboriginal seasons will take place at local cafe Hoo-gah later this month.

Chef and Hoo-gah’s owner Gina Triolo will be joined on the night by Dja Dja Wurrung, Latje Latje and Wotjabulluk woman Raylene Harradine, who will share her passion and knowledge of indigenous food culture throughout the dinner.

Gina Triolo explained that she and Raylene had been discussing the idea of an event like this, based around celebrating indigenous flavours, for a long time, and felt like now was an ideal opportunity to do so.

“Our aim is for our guests to enjoy a relaxed evening with great food and wine that explores the abundance of amazing ingredients available in our region and wider Australia,” she said.

Ms Triolo said while the hospitality industry continues to struggle with the uncertainty of the “new era”, it’s important for venues to continue to think outside of the box, and produce fresh ideas to help reinvigorate the sector.

“We are very lucky in our region that a few restaurants have held and are planning some show-stopper events that have helped to keep Bendigo and the City of Gastronomy active within the tourism sector,” she said.

“They have proved to be so popular that every time I try to get hold of a ticket they are sold out!!”

The six Aboriginal seasons are Birak (December to January), Bunuru (February to March), Djeran (April to May), Makuru (June to July), Djilba (August to September) and Kambarang (October to November).

The indigenous calendar is traditionally used as a guide to understand and predict natural annual cycles, such as which flowers are blooming when, and times of the year when bush foods are in plentiful supply.

The 6Seasons dinner will be held at Hoo-gah on Mitchell Street on Friday, 9 July, from 6.30-8.30pm. Tickets are available via the Bendigo Region website via bit.ly/3hjM3L5.