To acknowledge National Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week, SDN Children’s Services Aboriginal unit, Ngara Nanga Mai hosted a breakfast with Aboriginal celebrity chef, Mark Olive. The theme of Reconciliation Week 2011 (May 27 – June 3) is recognition. At SDN, we recognise the contribution Aboriginal people have made, and continue to make.

The event started bright and early with Mark teaching four of SDN’s children’s education and care centre cooks about ways to incorporate Aboriginal bush tucker into tasty meals. Wattle seed pikelets, scrambled eggs with native herbs, crocodile chipolatas and damper with golden syrup were made by Mark and the cooks, and enjoyed by Aboriginal elders, community members, families and friends of SDN who came along to the cook-up.

Deb Mann, Director of Ngara Nanga Mai said the breakfast was a ‘great way to acknowledge the importance of National Sorry Day and it gave the children the chance to get a taste for healthy Aboriginal meals. We are looking forward to working with Mark in the future to extend our cooks’ skills, plant bush tucker gardens and create healthy learning experiences for children around food.’

Mark Olive, aka ‘The Black Olive’, has been a chef for more than 25 years and has become well known for his creative approach to food. He has starred in his own television series The Outback Cafe and has hosted cooking, lifestyle and travel shows nationally and globally. Mark’s passion for fusing native food and culture with contemporary lifestyle cooking has led to an international profile, and the creation of Black Olive Catering, an indigenous catering company and function space in North Melbourne, Victoria. As a Bundjalung man, Mark’s family originated from the Northern Rivers region in NSW. Born in Wollongong, he became interested in cooking as a child, watching his mother and aunts prepare meals. For more information visit www.blackolive.net.au.

Thank you to the staff of Ngara Nanga Mai and the children and families who helped to make the event such a success.

Unle Max Eulo's smoking ceremony

Deb Mann & Mark Olive

Mark & Deb with the SDN cooks