It’s indigenous Australia’s time! People are finally waking up to the wonder that is Aboriginal food and culture – just ask My Kitchen Rules’ semi-finalist Matt Moncrieff.
Along with best friend KT – Kaitlin Pisani – Matt reached the final four of the ever-popular TV cooking show and along the way opened Australia’s eyes to the beauty of cooking with native ingredients.
A proud Yamatji man, whose grandmother Alice was born on the ‘Rabbit Proof Fence’ at Middalya Station, Matt grew up in Carnarvon, Western Australia and remembers a childhood full of family, friends and laughter.
"On weekends, we would go hunting for kangaroo and emu and then have a big cook-up by the Gascoyne River with our catch and swim and play,” he tells AGFG. "It was such an innocent and wonderful time. I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
These days, Matt lives in regional Victoria and works in Melbourne for BHP – a far cry from his early years growing up with a single Mum, who would work three jobs at a time.
"Cooking for myself was pretty normal, I guess it just developed from there. Cooking and food in general remind me of my Nanna and all of my aunties; no matter what time or day I would go to visit, there would always be a big pot of stew on the stove with a damper and you would never leave hungry.”
Matt says Nanna Alice (95) is the matriarch of the family and like a celebrity to all who know her.
"She is like living history. The challenges she has lived through and battles she has fought, just like so many Aboriginal women in this country, are a testament to the strength and resilience of not only my people but Aboriginal women in general and they should be celebrated.
"Nanna has always been such a strong lady, had a garden full of roses and bird cages full of budgies. Her house was such a safe space, where we would all go and hang out, cook and eat tucker.”
Although he never really cooked for her, Matt says Alice makes the most incredible trifle which he and KT were planning to cook in the Grand Final, unfortunately they missed out and so did we on the recipe!
Matt describes KT as like a sister after being friends for more than 15 years and confesses they weren’t sure if the Australian television audience would get their relationship.
"When we found out we would be on MKR, I thought ‘oh no, Aboriginals don’t cook pretty food, we make food to feed the masses.’ So, I needed to figure out how to make our food look restaurant-like. Do you know how hard it is to make kangaroo tail look pretty? It’s almost impossible.”
Not only did he make it look pretty as the main dish at their instant restaurant 'Jardilgurah', but the pair also received high praise from the judges, including Matt Preston’s comment that it was the best kangaroo he had tasted.
"Kangaroo is so hard to cook – if you leave it on for too long, or not long enough it can be gamey and tough – so practice makes perfect!”
Matt believes kangaroo is widely overlooked as a protein because people immediately think of ‘Skippy’:
"You would have seen this on the show that people were finding it hard to eat something as cute as a kangaroo. But I think chickens, lambs and pigs are cute so it kind of baffles me.”
The pair have all of Australia fascinated with native ingredients and recipes and Matt is excited for these dishes to finally have their moment.
"I think our culture is overlooked in general – we have the oldest living culture in the entire world and its one that has been silenced; but I think our voices are getting louder and people are starting to listen, the true beauty is being noticed.”
The first team in MKR’s history to do a ‘Welcome to Country’ as contestants took their seats at the dinner table, they are also the first to showcase native Australian food on the show.
"KT showed what it looked like to be an ally, we showcased our friendship and we showed that no matter what your background we are all Australian and our culture is one ALL Australians should be proud of.”
In his spare time, Matt is a proud gay rugby union player and believes there is no place in sport for homophobia or racism.
"We need to make sport a safe space for everyone, no matter your sexual preference, race or religion. But I’m a back, so basically I just blow dry my hair before games and score tries!”
As for the future, he and KT would love to make native ingredients more available and to see everyday Australians incorporating some of these ingredients into their cooking; they have called on supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths to stock ingredients such as Kakadu plums, lemon myrtle, bush tomatoes, saltbush and Warragul greens.
"There is a whole world of produce right under our noses ready to be discovered!”
AGFG acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, sea, and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures, to the Elders past, present and emerging.
