Bold Palates: The History of Australian Cuisine with Barbara Santich

Every dish carries a history, and every tradition we call authentic is the product of people, place and time meeting at the table. In this episode of Sensing Up, food is explored through the lens of history and culture, from the first colonial kitchens of Sydney and Hobart to the convent pantries of eighteenth-century Provence.

Barbara Santich is Professor Emeritus at the University of Adelaide, where she established the graduate program in gastronomy, and one of Australia's most respected food historians. Trained first in agricultural science, she followed a fascination with language and France to the Sorbonne, then to a doctorate on the cuisine of medieval Mediterranean France. She is the author of nine books, among them Bold Palates: Australia's Gastronomic Heritage, shortlisted for the 2013 Prime Minister's Literary Awards.

At the heart of Barbara's work is a clear conviction: "The culture belongs to the people. The land produces the resources." Australian food culture, in her view, has been taking shape for a century and a half. It was built by settlers who adopted and adapted what they found, from kangaroo steamer and fish cooked in paper bark to the picnic that became the chop picnic and, in time, the barbecue. Even the sausage sizzle, which left a newly arrived Valérie thoroughly bewildered, turns out to be a far younger tradition than most would guess. Traditions evolve gradually, one small element set aside and another added, which is why she locates food culture in living traditions and regional specialties, each one still in motion.

Books discussed in this episode:

Bold Palates: Australia's Gastronomic Heritage (Wakefield Press) https://www.wakefieldpress.com.au/product/bold-palates/ The Original Mediterranean Cuisine (Wakefield Press) https://www.wakefieldpress.com.au/authors/barbara-santich/ Eating in Eighteenth-Century Provence: The Evolution of a Tradition (Bloomsbury Academic) https://www.amazon.com.au/Eating-Eighteenth-Century-Provence-Evolution-Tradition/dp/1350329940

Valérie Henbest is a French cheese specialist born in Normandie. Her fine foods company, Smelly Cheese Co., based at the Adelaide Central Market, imports over 10 tonnes of French cheese monthly. She was awarded the French National Order of Agricultural Merit in 2023 and inducted into the Guilde Internationale des Fromagers, Paris.

Sensing Up is a space to slow down, pay attention and let the senses lead.

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