Who Am I?

G’day, my name is Josh, sometimes these days I go by the online moniker JP. I am an amateur Australian bush food forager based primarily in Sydney. While I have had a lifetime of adventurous eating (especially after marrying a beautiful Korean woman), nothing brings me more joy than to spend time in Australia’s often rugged wilderness and marvel at the truly astounding quantities of free food that is available on this sunburnt continent.

What is Bush Food Forager about?

This newsletter exists to chronicle my wild food journey to self-sufficiency and culinary satisfaction. Most Australians, myself included, other than our ancient First Nation tribes, do not have the foggiest inkling about Australia’s abundant wild edibles. This Substack hopes to be a worthy remedy of this pervasive ignorance and revive interest in Australia’s native foods.

Overseas tourists also marvel at our unique flora and fauna, but also do not have a clue about how much of it is good for the appetite. The articles contained here hope to allow anyone to identify common edible Australian plants and fruit, and partake of the ancient food culture of the First Nations tribes.

I agree with the words of Minjerribah (Stradbroke Island) local Kaiyu Bayles nee Moura: we ought to be in the process of decolonising our diet (listen to Kaiyu’s 10-part radio series on that topic here) from the woes of industrial-chemical agriculture. How can we do that if we do not even know what we can eat outside of the supermarkets?

Warning: wild food foraging is highly contagious and addictive! Think with care before embarking on the foraging experience of our distant forebears, for once you have the bug it is very difficult to rid yourself of it!

Will you join me on the journey? Subscribe! It’s free.

Cheers,

JP.