Australia’s premier Indigenous food and culture festival, A Taste of Kakadu, will be staged across Kakadu National Park from 10 to 19 May 2019, serving up a menu of ancient cuisine with modern twists.
This year’s festival has been expanded to include a range of new food and cultural experiences showcasing the rich Indigenous culture and breathtaking scenery of Kakadu National Park, which is celebrating the 40th anniversary of its declaration this year.
Over nine days, visitors can embark on guided foraging walks where ‘super’ foods and delicacies such as Kakadu plums can be enjoyed, enjoy slow-cooked Kakadu staples such as crocodile, barramundi and buffalo cooked in ground ovens, and glide along the famed barramundi-filled rivers while enjoying bush tucker-inspired canapes.
Festival highlights include:
- Australia’s premier Indigenous chef, Mark Olive, hosting an entertaining cooking demonstration showcasing the native ingredients he uses to create his signature cuisine;
- Paul ‘Yoda’ Iskov from Fervor returns to Taste of Kakadu with an informative open-air cooking class where he will create incredible Fervor-style dishes using native ingredients collected with Kakadu’s traditional owners;
- Anme Garringun Ganji Mayambolk – ‘Dining under the Milky Way’: This new event presents stargazing from a local Indigenous perspective on the airstrip of Cooinda Airport. The crystal clear skies are rich in Indigenous Dreamtime folklore, and guests will be able to enjoy along a fascinating local interpretation of the stars complemented by drinks and local inspired canapes featuring the best of Kakadu produce;
- Sunset & Canapes cruises on Yellow Water Billabong will combine Kakadu’s a curated tour of Kakadu’s spectacular wetlands and wildlife with drinks and canapes featuring local Northern Territory cuisine;
- Kakadu sunset art expedition: Enjoy Kakadu-inspired canapes and sunset beverages at a pop-up art exhibition on the lawns of the famed Crocodile Hotel, with local artists creating and showcasing their artwork;
- Cocktails at the Croc – from 6pm-10 pm nightly, a selection of Kakadu inspired cocktails will be available, with a complimentary bush food canapé for each cocktail ordered – many of the ingredients for the Kakadu cocktails come from the grounds of The Croc;
- A Kakadu inspired buffet will run nightly at The Escarpment Restaurant in Jabiru, featuring smoked wallaby loin, cured crocodile, buffalo pastrami, Kakadu plums, Gunbalanya Scotch fillet, Buffalo Massaman curry, and local barramundi;
- Bush foods foraging walks with guides from renowned Animal Tracks Safari, followed by a cook-up on the edge of Anbangbang Billabong with a traditional menu based on the season, including fish, green ants, waterlily cakes, wattle seeds, tubers and native peppermint;
- Join local Bininj for mouth-watering fare slow-cooked in a ground oven at Warradjan Cultural Centre.
- This year’s A Taste of Kakadu is as much a cultural immersion as it is a food journey – and visitors can visit areas of Kakadu National Park rarely seen, such as the Mawurndaddja cultural tour of Arnhem Land.
- In addition there will be exhibitions featuring food-themed art from local artists, as well as art and weaving classes at Warradjan Cultural Centre, Bowali Visitors Centre and the Mercure Kakadu Crocodile Hotel.
As an added nostalgia bonus, the film that put Kakadu on the international tourism map – Crocodile Dundee – will be shown at a special screening under the stars in the grounds of Mercure Kakadu Crocodile Hotel.
Accommodation specials
Accommodation is available during the Festival at Mercure Kakadu Crocodile Hotel (rooms available from $199), the newly-refurbished Cooinda Lodge (from $249) and Camping Grounds (from $40 for a powered site).
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