Dining Downunder Articles

Wattleseed Pear Tart with Wattleseed Custard
Peter accents the chocolate and hazelnut characteristics of Wattleseed in his dessert and having only a small amount of chocolate in the pear hollow means that it won't over-whelm the Wattleseed. Clever.

Update from Down Under
Lots of food has gone through the kitchen since the last blog on this site and we'll be more regularly adding information on Australian food and cooking as it happens Down Under.

Australia Day 2007
Australia Day 2007. Are you looking for new ideas on how you can celebrate Australia Day with your friends and family?

Rewarding Affiliate Program for authentic Australian Gourmet Food takes off
Prior to Christmas, our Australian Affiliate Program for the Dining Downunder and Vic Cherikoff Online Store grew to over 200 affiliates. Our range of affiliates in the program now include large international portals, general and dedicated Australian on-line food stores to simple blogs on food, cooking, eating and travel.

The Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco 2007
Buyers, Distributors and Retailers.....Are you considering going to the San Francisco Winter Fancy Foods show but are worried that you’ll only see more of the same old boring pedestrian foodstuffs?

Autographed Cookbooks now available online
Autographed Cookbooks now available online. Australian Celebrity Chefs Vic Cherikoff and Benjamin Christie last week signed only 500 copies of their Dining Downunder Cookbook exclusively for online orders in December or until sold out. The signed Dining Downunder Cookbooks are now in the warehouse and are ready for shipping today. There has never been a better time to buy a copy for you, friends and family.

Australian Cuisine on the Regent Seven Seas Mariner Cruise Ship
Australian Cuisine on the Regent Seven Seas Mariner Cruise Ship. Vic Cherikoff and Benjamin Christie have recently returned from their 8-day cruise onboard the Regent Seven Seas Mariner from Darwin to Sydney where they showcased an Australian themed cuisine event as part of the Mariner's "Spotlight on Wine & Food Tour".

Furi Knife October Winner!
Congratulations to the winner of the October giveaway!

Füritechnics Knives for Professional Chefs and Home Cooks
Füritechnics Knives is an Australian-based engineering development company with a mission to produce unique solutions for professional (and serious amateur) cooks. The company was founded by mechanical engineer Mark Henry in Brisbane in July 1996 upon his vision to offer chefs new solutions to old problems, by developing innovative products of unbeatable performance and value, for worldwide distribution.

Heart Foundation Australia Classic Golf Day 2006
The Heart Foundation of Australia recently approached Benjamin Christie to be a part of their Heart Classic Golf Day on Thursday 16th November 2006 which will be held at one of Australia's most prestigious courses, The Lakes Golf Club.

Rainforest Mist - Energy without the Calories!
Rainforest Mist - Energy without the Calories! Just like taking a deep breath in a pristine rainforest, your senses will burst to life. Using ancient Aboriginal plant lore and modern science, Vic has infused Australian rainforest herb and fruit extracts into pure ice crystal water to create a natural face mist you inhale and that goes way beyond refreshing.

Food Festivals
A note for event planners for food festivals. Food Festivals are a great way of giving your patrons new and powerful memories they’ll remember for a long time.

Natural Products Expo East in Baltimore Maryland
Today Vic departed from Sydney heading to The Natural Products Expo East, being held in Baltimore, Maryland, USA from 4th - 7th October.

Lemon Myrtle Sprinkle
Lemon Myrtle Sprinkle is a deliciously aromatic and extremely versatile herb mix is made from lemon myrtle, one of the most well known Australian herbs and spices probably because of its similarity to lemon grass, lime and lemon oils - all widely used flavors themselves. Lemon myrtle has an intensity and a sweetness of smell which makes it more lemony than lemon!

Wattle you do on National Wattle Day the 1st of September ?
Wattle Day began in the late 1880’s with the suggestion of a formation of the Wattle Blossom League by William Sowden. Aside from celebrating being Australian, the Australian environment and history, Wattle Day generally relates to Spring and looking forward.

Interview with The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph Newspaper in Sydney recently asked Rebecca Beuth, our Executive Assistant for an interview in their careers section, as they said she has one of the more unique EA jobs in Sydney.

Vic Cherikoff Nominated for Australian of the Year 2007
We are very excited to announce that Vic Cherikoff was recently nominated for Australian of the Year Award for 2007. Vic was nominated for Australia’s top award in acknowledgement of his pioneering work in the commercialization of indigenous plants, industry building, Australian cuisine development and export facilitation. He was equally stunned and humbled to hear he had been nominated.

Paperbark Smoke Oil - the new truffle oil from Australia
Paperbark Smoke Oil is a uniquely Australian and deliciously flavoured infused oil, which is used in the same way as truffle oil but is far more versatile and widely appealing. It is made from Paperbark, the outer papery bark from an Australian swamp tree and which was traditionally used by Aborigines as a food wrap. In the modern kitchen, Paperbark is a useful, natural, biodegradable material which can replace greaseproof paper, baking paper, oven bags, plastic wrap and aluminium foil while imparting a delicate smokey flavour now infused into Paperbark Smoke Oil.

So What the Bloody Hell is Wattleseed?
For over 6000 years, Australian Aborigines in different clans around the country, parched and milled wattle seeds from around 100 of the 900 plus species of Acacia, then used the coarse flour in baked seed cakes. This all changed in 1984, when the accidental discovery by Vic Cherikoff created the modern day product known as Cherikoff Wattleseed.

Rebecca Beuth joins Dining Downunder
Rebecca Beuth has recently joined the team at Dining Downunder primarily to support Australian celebrity chefs Benjamin Christie and Vic Cherikoff as their Executive Assistant.

Wattleseed and Chocolate Palmiers
Wattleseed and Chocolate Palmiers taste great, and this recipe by Benjamin's mum is really easy to follow.

Food Candy interviews Vic Cherikoff
During May while Vic Cherikoff was in the United States, he sat down for an interview with DB (Daniel Doubrovkine ) from the popular food blog website Food Candy.

Citibank Rewards offers Dining Downunder Cookbook and Australian Herbs & Spices
If you’re a Citibank Rewards customer in Australia, then with your July statement you would have received “Your Rewards” brochure which offers a wide range of products and services using your accumulated Citibank points.

Vic Cherikoff and Benjamin Christie take 2nd prize at Rhode Island Clam Chowder Cook-off
Australian celebrity chefs, Vic Cherikoff and Benjamin Christie recently invited to compete at the Schweppes 25th Annual Clam Chowder Cook-off in Newport, Rhode Island. Although rain didn’t deter the absolutely committed local New England chowder heads, the numbers were down on last year’s record year of 25,000 people.

Australian Celebrity Chefs head to the United States for Clam Chowder
Australian celebrity chefs, Vic Cherikoff and Benjamin Christie from the Australian TV cooking show Dining Downunder have once again been invited to cook at the Rhode Island Schweppes Great Chowder Cook-off on Saturday June 3, 2006.

Inflight Entertainment TV Programming Content Sales
Inflight Entertainment TV Programming Content Sales. Dining Downunder has currently more than 1 years worth of programming (13 episodes available and a further 65 in development) and can be formatted to suit the majority of inflight entertainment systems including Rockwell Collins eTes, Matsushita / Panasonic and Thales units.

Westfield Shopping Center competition with celebrity chef Benjamin Christie
You’ll recall just before Christmas last year Westfield Chatswood ran a competition to have celebrity chef Benjamin Christie cook a Gourmet Dinner Party at your house.

Baked Illawarra plum cheesecake
This American dessert favorite is really turned upside down here with the unique flavour of Illawarra plums. The recipe can be varied if you substitute the plums with lemon aspen, riberries, rosella flowers, limes or even Oz Lemon or Fruit Spice.

Kangaroo striploin tartlet with sweet potato and bush tomato jus
This is no doubt the easiest recipe in the book and canapés are a great way to introduce new flavours at a cocktail or dinner party. Instead of serving the same old finger foods or boring cheeses, try experimenting with the vast array of native fruits and spices. Other ideas include asparagus wrapped in emu prosciutto with Wildfire Spice mayonnaise, steamed scallops and desert limes with Alpine Pepper hollandaise or salt and Alpine Pepper squid.

Braised veal shank with native mint drizzled pink eye potatoes
The slow wet cooking really does the trick in tenderizing the veal and it’s great with the Alpine Pepper and subtle flavour from the paperbark.

Rainforest lime and macadamia nut pudding
Slightly spicy, sweet and sour is how I describe this Rainforest lime dessert pudding with macadamia nuts. The spicy sweet flavours come from the ginger marmalade and the sourness is from the wild limes. If you can’t get hold of Australian native limes, you can substitute them with regular limes. Make sure to remove the rind and the seeds or it’ll be too bitter to eat. This is not necessary if you are using the fully edible rainforest limes.

Pork braise with bunya nut and Australian rice grass
This recipe is a little ahead of its time in that it has an ingredient, Australian rice grass, which is only just entering commercialization stages. It may be a few more years before it is widely available but small amounts are beginning to enter selected gourmet stores. A substitute is the Canadian wild rice harvested and widely marketed as Inuit rice but it is really closer to the nutty dryland rice grasses of Arizona in the USA.

Wattleseed crocodile with riberry confit
There is a satisfaction in eating something that wouldn’t think twice about eating you, given half the chance! And harvesting crocodiles for meat is part of good resource management. One of the few flavours which enhances rather than overwhelms the very subtle, fishy-chicken flavour of crocodile is wattle. This is one occasion that wattle is used dry as a seasoning rather than more commonly being boiled first to soften the grounds and extract its characteristic flavour.

Twice baked goats cheese soufflé
Experiment with this dish; add what ever you want to the soufflé, sweet or savory it doesn’t matter. And try the more ripen cheeses which can handle other strong flavours Unlike a conventional souffle which is light and fluffy, this twice cooked version is a little more substantial and well as being delicious.

Paella with shellfish and lemon aspen fruits
I guess every chef in the world has their own paella recipe. Traditionally, paella has chorizo sausages, saffron, olives, chicken, mussels and parsley. In some ways it’s like a risotto that is open ended, where you can add anything that tickles your fancy. In the studio I cooked up different native paella for the crew with emu proscuitto, squid, chicken, kangaroo sausage all flavoured with bush tomato chutney and Alpine Pepper using the same base recipe.

Wattleseed pavlova
This has to be a contender for an Australian national dish. Even if the Kiwis simultaneously concocted the same sort of meringue mixture, the idea of serving it in Swiss roll fashion instead of as a cow pat must put us in front.

Wine drenched lamb with Alpine Pepper mash
I love tender lamb with a good drop of red, so here I would recommend using a light red wine, as marinating it in a strong full bodied merlot or cabernet sauvignon will make it difficult to pair with a table wine to go with the meal. The strong peppery notes of the Alpine Pepper creates a unique flavour with plenty of punch

Barralax on rainforest herb linguini
Should it be barralax or gravamundi? Either is a corruption of the Scandinavian word for the process of dry curing salmon – but we wanted to make it our own using what is often considered amongst the best eating fish around. This dish needs to be prepared well ahead of time as the curing of the barramundi can take up to 24 hours.

Wattleseed and walnut bread and butter pudding with stewed fruits
This can also utilize wattleseed and walnut bread which you might make in a bread machine adding around a tablespoonful of wattleseed to a 500g bread mix. The walnuts get added once the dough is roughly mixed and most machines have a setting for this. Bread and butter pudding is always better made on old bread and better to eat the next day or two.

Lamb Loin with English spinach semi dried tomatoes and bush tomato chutney
I really enjoy cooking with lamb in general, as I find it rather versatile for every situation from roasting, BBQ’ing, pan frying or wok tossing. During the week I take pleasure in slicing thinly then marinating some lamb fillet, then stir frying it with egg noodles, fresh crisp greens and a little Red Desert Dust. Be sure to sear the lamb quickly to ensure tenderness, add a little oyster and soy sauce to moisten the dish. Unlike weekdays when there is little time, Sunday evenings are generally reserved for the lamb roast, which for me, consists of stuffing whole cloves of garlic, rosemary and Oz Lemon into a leg of lamb and slowly roasting it to perfection and serving with a jus lie. A jus lie is simply made adding a little red wine to the roasting pan then reducing the liquid to produce a full flavoured sauce.

Alpine peppered venison on rainforest herb linguini
This is an easy dish with very complex flavour from the herb pasta, the seasoned meat, the wild earthy mushrooms and the aromatic scented jus which you really only taste half way through the dish if it’s done right.

Coconut and Lemon Myrtle brulée
The Lemon Myrtle in this recipe could easily be substituted for other native Australian ingredients such as wattleseed or Australian Fruit Spice. Alternatively you could serve this brulée topped with Riberry Confit or Rosella Confit for something entirely different.

Panfried monkfish with bunya nut hash, rocket and macadamia nut pesto
While I was an apprentice chef at the Watermark restaurant in Sydney, the kitchen brigade took turns on who would create the fish of the day offering. You could always tell the best ones as they often sold out by the middle of service and I’m proud of some of the best-selling dishes I concocted during my time there. Since then, in each restaurant I have run I have showcased the fantastic fish available in Australia, including my favorite coral trout. Although this dish is not one of the specials we created, it is rather similar in presentation and style to those we prepared many years ago.

Saltbush Lamb with kumara smash
Saltbush lamb has a unique taste quality resulting from the native saltbush on which the animals feed. It is not so much salty as robust, almost rich and yet delicate enough to carry some good spice mixes.

Polenta and Lemon Aspen cake with sugar bag and Wild Rosella Cream
We seem to forget that polenta or corn was once only food for native American Indians and is now a world food crop. Contrast this to Australia where the only global food species native to this country is the macadamia nut. But times they are a-changing.

Aussie burger and chips
Add things like melted cheese, fried eggs and chopped chilli. To go a bit more Mediterranean; add a little mint to the lamb, use thin and crispy proscuitto, toast Turkish bread and spread it with bush tomato chutney, then add crispy, fried or baked haloumi cheese.

Seafood laksa with wild limes and lemon myrtle linguini
In my early days as a chef, I spent some time in South East Asia exploring the different tastes and cuisines of the region. One region which I particularly enjoyed was Georgetown, Penang, the home of the world famous laksa. I learnt their standard recipe from a well known, local chef, who, let me tell you, loves his Laksa super-spicy. I have adapted his recipe here and added in a native twist to have the taste buds going wild. From time to time, I also add straw mushrooms, English spinach or baby beetroot leaves, snow peas, asparagus or even zucchini. It’s also great with chicken breast strips or deep-fried tofu instead of the seafood.

Ricotta figs and macadamia nuts

This is a really simple but delicious dessert which can be substituted any number of ways. Use different fruits such as mango, apricots, peaches or stewed pears. Substitute the various herbs with Australian or varietal mints or peppermint, try basil or chervil, licorice or aniseed and mix them into a range of alternative cheeses such as quark or cottage cheese, cream cheeses such as Philadelphia, Neufchatel, mascarpone or even straight sour cream or yoghurt. Try a range of pure honeys, maple syrup, palm sugar syrup, brandy butter, golden syrup or fruit syrups (rose hip, pomegranate etc). And finally, introduce different nuts such as pecans, pistachio, Brazil nuts, pine nuts etc.

Paperbark smoked duck with Illawarra plum sauce

A short cut in this recipe could be to buy Peking duck and briefly smoke it a camp oven lined with paperbark.

Chocolate mousse tart with gumleaf cream and wild rosella flowers
Chocolate really suits some specific Australian flavours. If we think of semi-sweet, dark, rich chocolate, then Australian peppermint, gumleaf oil and aniseed myrtle complement well. Quandong, Kakadu plum, Illawarra plum, wild rosella but particularly Wattleseed really go well with white chocolate. Then for the middle of the road; milk chocolate, I’d suggest glace riberries, Oz Lemon, some of the spicy flavours and paperbark smoke flavours. Try some of these in this mousse recipe and see what your tastebuds tell you.

Kangaroo rump with ricotta filled pine mushrooms and rocket

What really needs to be said about kangaroo as an environmentally appropriate, ecologically sustainable alternative? And this low fat, tender, high iron, delicious meat is so good, it’s on our National Coat of Arms.

Three cheese corn fritters with a paperbark smoked beetroot jam

There are a growing number of Australian companies now making cheeses flavoured with Australian herbs and spices. These include fetta, soft cheeses, cheddars and club cheese made from milk from cows, ewes and goats (rather than wallabies, wallaroos and wombats, which are all pretty hard to milk since none of them like to stand still long enough). However, a substitute for the ready-made, flavoured cheeses would be to use your choice of light flavoured cheddar and add Australian seasonings to the fritters, say, a heaped teaspoon of Akudjura or of any of Vic’s savoury seasonings.

Salt and pepper yabbie skewers

Late at night down in Chinatown, many restaurants serve up this treat using either fresh prawns or squid in their own unique salt and Szechwan pepper blends. I thought yabbies would bring sweetness to the dish giving it a further dimension. Nowadays, most fish shops and seafood markets in Australia have live yabbies available or you can catch your own in farm dams and most of our larger inland rivers. Try this recipe with chicken strips as well.

Alpine peppered pineapple with wild fruit yoghurt

Another of my breakfast special although I use yoghurt or a light sour cream instead of cream or ice cream as for a dessert and might include a serve of pancakes made up to the same size as the pineapple rings.

Tasmanian salmon with soy Alpine Pepper dressing

You can use fillets with the skin on for this if you don’t like staring your meal in the eye. You could experiment with the dressing, as there are plenty of possibilities using Australian herbs or seasonings e.g. Oz Lemon, which will add citrus notes to go with the ginger.

Ribeye steak with broccolini, shitake mushrooms and wattleseed jus

If you can’t find broccolini, use Chinese cabbage, asparagus or broccoli (slice the stems and some flowers lengthwise). Broccolini is an Australian horticultural cross between broccoli and Chinese kale. It has long edible stalks and more open florets than broccoli.

Ginger prawn and noodle salad

The lemon aspen syrup may be the only challenging ingredient in this dish. For a substitute, try a mix of 10ml lemon juice, 80g palm sugar and 70ml (¼ cup) of water.

Sydney Salad

The best part of this salad is the dressing which can be added up to a day ahead and won’t turn the lettuces to sludge. In fact, it makes it stay firm and fresh due to osmosis.

Paperbark smoked barramundi
You may wish to make it clear to your guests that while the paperbark is harmless if a little is consumed, it is indigestible (sort of like the box your breakfast cereal comes in or the shell around an oyster). Barramundi is considered by many to be the best catching and eating fish around and many arguments can debate the complexities of estuarine specimen as against farm reared. The easiest thing is to just try both and make up your own mind.

Wild rosella and wasabi dressing
Mark loves wasabi and I mean he loves wasabi, in fact, he loves anything spicy. When I prepared this dressing to accompany some freshly BBQd seafood he complained there wasn’t enough wasabi in it yet it brought tears to my eyes. I generally make a more tame version but if you’re game to try it really spicy and hot then add more wasabi. Some Alpine pepper also makes an interesting base flavour. Add about a half teaspoonful for this recipe. You can try using the powdered wasabi as well but I prefer the paste for the convenience of a tube.

Char-grilled baby octopus
Calamari rings or slices of large octopus can be used as well. Try seasoning with a few different spice mixes for interest e.g. Rainforest Rub, Wildfire Spice, Alpine Pepper or Oz Lemon but do this to finish as the aromatics will be cooked off if these spices are heated too much.

Soused sea perch fillets
Cooking this way can be made even easier for big batches of fish (or scallops, prawns, yabbies etc) if you have a strainer or tray with drainer holes in the bottom to fit into the poaching pan. The idea is to keep the poaching liquid hot and not to cool it off too much each time the cold seafood goes in. Cook one batch, drain and spice it up and then add the next batch to the constantly simmering liquid.

Mud crab and smoked kumara gnocchi

Some tips that will make this dish easier are; use an electric mixer with a paddle; cook one piece to test the consistency before you roll them all out; and use a piping bag to shape the gnocchi if you’re making lots (they freeze well too).

Wattleseed pancakes with riberry confit

I normally don’t like stacked dishes because as soon as you hit it with a fork, it looks like the dog’s dinner. An alternative way to serve them is to cook thin crepes, pack them with the fruit mix and lavish them with cream or ice cream. Note that there are short cuts given in this recipe but some of the components are best prepared ahead of time or obtained ready-made.

Riberry and Blue Cheese Damper
The best feature of the camp oven is that to clean it, all you do is burn off any residues and dry-wipe away the charcoal. Pack the oven in a Hessian bag and its ready for next time.

White bean cassoulet

A cassoulet is traditionally a rich, hearty stew of various meats and or beans with a mix of starchy and aromatic vegetables and herbs. Use any root vegetables you can get including parsnips, swedes, yams or even beetroot. You can obviously add other flavourings too but remember, the damper has plenty of complexity of taste.

Braised chicken in a sweet corn and polenta broth

Be bold with your flavours here. The Wildfire Spice adds almost pizza notes but you can get smokey flavours from the BBQ or crank up the chilli, if you like it hot! Also, any prosciutto can be used, pan-fried to crispness for what Vic calls that all-important, “textural crunch!”

Boomerang trifle with lemon ironwood syrup, wild fruit jelly and Fruit Spice

This dessert takes some forward planning with the jelly and fruit compote having to be made the day before. In fact, the cake is better if it’s not just baked but a few days old and the cream will get stronger in taste overnight in the fridge as well. This dish also lends itself to a whole lot of improvisation; from sherry, brandy or ice wine for soaking the cake to wattleseed cream, gumleaf custard or Lemon Myrtle ice cream.

Japanese pumpkin frittata served with bush tomato chutney

This is one of the few dishes where Vic would agree to using more than one or two of his seasonings but because you eat through the slice of frittata in layers, each mouthful stands alone in flavour – even the pumpkin.

VitaMan Natural Grooming for Men
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Australian Event the Hyatt Regency Guam - April 2005
Australian celebrity chefs Vic Cherikoff and Benjamin Christie were asked by Austrade’s Business Development Manager, Ancy Palma from the Philippines to host a week long Australian cuisine event at the Hyatt Regency Guam from the 11th to 17th April 2005.

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Dining Downunder the Australian Cooking Show

Dining Downunder is an Australian cooking show which includes segments shot in numerous scenic locations and features our internationally recognised food style. Our hook, to attract audiences is the innovative twist of using indigenous Australian ingredients, which are now spreading across the globe as the newest food trend used by creative chefs, adventurous home cooks and innovative manufacturers.

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Regent Seven Seas Mariner - November 2006
Australian Celebrity chefs, Vic Cherikoff and Benjamin Christie from the popular Australian cooking show Dining Downunder™ have been invited onboard the Regent Seven Seas Mariner as part of their Spotlight on Wine and Food cruises.

Dining Downunder releases Global Survey Results on Hotel Cuisine Promotions

From January to June 2005, Dining Downunder conducted a global survey on hotel cuisine promotions which was completed by over 650 in the hotel and restaurant industry.

Australian Event at the Hilton Osaka - June 2006
Australian celebrity chefs, Vic Cherikoff and Benjamin Christie will be hosting an Australian cuisine event at the Hilton Osaka from the 19th till 26th June 2006. Each evening during the week long event, the chefs will feature an extensive Australian buffet and live cooking show each evening in Checkers Restaurant.

Australian Event at the Hilton Nagoya - June 2006


Rhode Island Clam Chowder Festival - June 2006
Vic and Benjamin head to the USA to participate in the 25th Annual Schweppes Great Chowder Cook-off on Saturday June 3, 2006.

Broadcasters Information
Broadcasters, Cable Networks and TV Program and Content Sales of Dining Downunder, the Australian Cooking Show is currently a 13 part TV series filmed around Australia and is hosted by Australian celebrity chefs Vic Cherikoff, Benjamin Christie and Mark McCluskey. Most of the cooking segments are filmed in front of a live studio audience, however each episode also features vignettes on location.

2nd Series - Pre Production
Dining Downunder ™ is currently in pre-production for the 2nd series of our Australian cooking show. This follows on from our first 13 episodes which have aired in over 40 countries and are still being marketed in the USA.

Australia Week Moscow - May 2005

Australian chefs, Benjamin Christie and Vic Cherikoff from Dining Downunder were invited to host an Australian Cuisine Promotion at the RadissonSAS Slavyanskaya Hotel, Moscow from the 10th – 20th May as part of Australia Week in Moscow festivities.

Celebrity Chef Events
celebrity chefs, Vic Cherikoff and Benjamin Christie, have hosted events, food festivals, corporate events, trade shows, cooking classes, celebrity chef appearances and Australian Government functions right around the world. They invite enquiries for their involvement in events where their standing as specialist celebrity chefs can help promote Australia as a world food capital.

Benjamin Christie
Benjamin Christie, Australian celebrity chef with a rapidly growing international reputation as a television presenter, cookbook author, culinary educator and chef consultant.

Vic Cherikoff
Many regard Vic Cherikoff as a visionary due to his passion for and commitment to commercializing his selection of over two and a half dozen traditional Aboriginal food and medicinal resources as the basis of an authentic Australian industry.

Mark McCluskey
Mark McCluskey has received numerous culinary awards for his style and use of native Australian ingredients which has been built upon his traditional English training. He began his career in the UK at the Kegworth Hotel then moved to the Novotel in London.

Swiss Grand at Bondi Beach Sydney
Literally minutes from Sydney’s Central business district, chef Benjamin Christie explores the famous Bondi Beach and visits the Swiss Grand to try their native Australian menu.

Margaret River and restaurant Vat 107
Having worked and lived in Western Australia for some time, Benjamin Christie was well qualified to take us 3 hours south of Perth down to the wine growing region of Margaret River where he visits Vat 107 Restaurant and a number of wineries.

Lillipilli in the Rocks
Hidden in the tangled lanes and walkways of Sydney’s colonial past, Vic Cherikoff found the Aboriginal owned and run Lillipilli in the Rocks. Lillipilli in the Rocks is one of a kind, offering diners one of the most diverse menus in Australia.

Feast Restaurant on Avoca Beach
Vic Cherikoff heads north to the beachside suburb of Avoca where French Chef, André Chouvin runs Feast Restaurant. Every seat in the house commands stunning beach views, but more importantly it boasts some of the best food for many miles around.

The Cowrie Restaurant Terrigal Beach
Only an hour north of Sydney, Terrigal is a popular day trip or holiday retreat for Sydney-siders. When Vic Cherikoff stopped by for lunch at The Cowrie, he tried a variety a dishes including an Australian mixed seafood platter, tagine of seafood and a steamed blue eyed code with fennel and king prawns.

Redgum Restaurant at Boronia House Mosman
This episode, Vic Cherikoff visits Redgum Restaurant inside the historic Boronia House in the northern Sydney suburb of Mosman. Originally located at the corso in Manly, Uli and Sean’s Redgum Restaurant relocated to Boronia House in 2001 when the Manly Pier was being renovated.

Crowne Plaza Newcastle
Benjamin Christie drives 2 hours north of Sydney to visit his mate, Nick Flynn who is Executive Chef of the new Crowne Plaza Newcastle. Nick, apart from looking after banqueting and room service also heads up the Crowne Plaza’s Breeze restaurant and bar.

Hydro Majestic Hotel in the Blue Mountains
This episode, Vic Cherikoff heads off to the west of Sydney and visits the historical and heritage listed Mercure Grand Hydro Majestic Hotel in the Blue Mountains. This grand hotel is situated on an escarpment at Medlow Bath and offers magnificent, sweeping views of the Megalong Valley and Kanimbla Ranges.

Buderim Ginger and Bistro C in Noosa on the Sunshine Coast
In this episode, Vic Cherikoff travels to the Sunshine Coast in Queensland and visits the town of Yandina which is the home of the famous Buderim Ginger Factory. After learning about ginger production, Vic heads off to Bistro C, right on Noosa Beach.

Australia Day on Sydney Harbour
For Australia Day, our chefs visit the Sydney Fish Markets, then board a cruiser for a seafood lunch on Sydney Harbour. Our skipper finds a sheltered cove and we cook on the BBQ off the back of the boat. It’s a great way to enjoy this amazing part of Sydney on an Australia Day long weekend or anytime.

Banjo Patterson's Restaurant on the Parramatta River
Our chefs visit Hunters Hill on the Parramatta River, to dine at the well known Banjo Patterson Cottage Restaurant. Classified by the National Trust, "Rockend" is where A.B.'Banjo' Paterson, the Australian poet and bard lived as a young man with his grandmother.

The Three Sisters and the Post Office Restaurant in Leura
Vic Cherikoff visits Echo Point in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney and drops in to the neighbouring Blue Gum and Leura Post Office restaurants. Echo Point attracts visitors from around the world and offers postcard views of the Three Sisters and out across the Jamison Valley.

Alberts Lakeside Restaurant Norwest Sydney
This episode, Mark McCluskey takes us to the restaurant where he spends most of his time as Executive Chef of Alberts Lakeside Restaurant which is located at the Norwest Business Park, 30 minutes drive north west from the Sydney CBD.

Descendance and Dining Downunder Strategic Alliance
The Australian cooking show, Dining Downunder ™ has recently formed a strategic alliance with Australia’s leading Aboriginal and Torrens Strait Island dance theatre, Descendance ™ Aboriginal Dancers.

BeefEater Barbecues
BeefEater is an Australian company that has a twenty year tradition of making the finest outdoor barbecue appliances. BeefEater specialises in high quality porcelain enamel and stainless steel barbecues and barbecue accessories.

Vic Cherikoff Food Services - Australian herbs and Spices
Cherikoff spices, herbs, fruits, seeds, nuts and other flavours and recipes made using them are defining Australian cuisine. They are the ingredients and recipes which influence our food styles, make our restaurant menus unique and our chefs' signature dishes distinctively and unmistakenly, Australian.

Australian Event Grand Plaza Parkroyal Kuala Lumpur - May 2005

Australian Guest Chef Dayle Merlo of Dining Downunder will take centre stage for one week at the famed Parkroyal Grill at Grand Plaza Parkroyal Kuala Lumpur. from the 10th -17th May. The Australian Cuisine Promotion is being sponsored by Malaysia’s national carrier, Malaysia Airlines and Cherikoff Food Services.

Regent Seven Seas Mariner - November 2005
When the Radisson Seven Seas Mariner recently visited Australian shores, Australian celebrity chefs Vic Cherikoff and Benjamin Christie from the cooking show, Dining Downunder ™ were invited on board as part of the Radisson Spotlight on Wine and Food from the 8th to the 11th of November 2005.

Dining Downunder on ABC Asia Pacific

From October, Dining Downunder will be airing again on the ABC Asia Pacific network at 2pm each Sunday afternoon. Check local guides for times.

Bondi Episode Screener


Dining Downunder boards the Regent Seven Seas Mariner Cruise Ship
Australian Celebrity chefs, Vic Cherikoff and Benjamin Christie board the Regent Seven Seas Mariner from Sydney to Hobart during November to showcase the rare herbs, spices, fruits and more in an authentic Australian cuisine presentation

Westfield Chatswood Shopping Centre Promotion with Benjamin Christie
During November, Westfield Chatswood have included Benjamin in their new advertising campaign called Know the New! The campaign is all about the latest fashion, beauty, technology and kitchen homewares which are available at Westfield Chatswood.

Affiliate Program Web Ads
Affiliate Program Web Ads. Here is a selection of web ads which are offered as part of the Dining Downunder & Vic Cherikoff affiliate program. We are always adding new ads, so these are just a short sample of what is offered.

Australian Corporate Event at the Solamar Hotel San Diego - June 2005
Australian celebrity chefs,Vic Cherikoff and Benjamin were invited to San Diego to cook Australian Food at the official launch of Constellation Property Group at the new Solamar Hotel during June 2005. The corporate event was hosted by Eugene Marchese, who is recognised as one of Australia’s leading architects and Managing Director of Constellation Property Group.

Online Advertising
Harnessing the power of television as well as the online user, the Dining Downunder website provides advertisers a pre-qualified audience face-to-face with their products and services. At the conclusion of each episode of Dining Downunder viewers are directed to the wesbite to learn more.

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Rich Media Advertising
Dining Downunder ™ offers companies the ability to target an audience of high worth and food savvy views using rich media advertising on www.dining-downunder.com Ad delivery is tracked with high precision in accordance with IAB guidelines, using cookies and 1×1 tracker pixels. There are a number of different advertising positions available across the site and these can be targeted to in two zones; run of site and our recipes section.

Australian Event at Sheraton Grande Laguna Phuket - November 2004
Australian celebrity chefs, Vic Cherikoff and Benjamin Christie hosted an Australian Cuisine Promotion at the Sheraton Grande Laguna Phuket from the 27th November – 1st December 2004. The promotion was held in two of the resorts restaurants; The Teahouse Restaurant and The Market Place Restaurant.

Dining Downunder broadcasts to Asia on ABC Asia Pacific
From September 10th, 2004, culinary explorers watching the ABC Asia Pacific in 30 countries are about to experience Australian food like never before.

Australian culinary training event at the Casino Zollverein - April 2004
Australian Celebrity chefs, Vic Cherikoff and Benjamin Christie from the popular Australian cooking show Dining Downunder ™ were invited to Casino Zollverein in the town of Essen (nearby Düsseldorf), Germany for a 1 day training course on using Australian native foods.

Touch and Taste Australia in Prague – March 2004
Australian Celebrity chefs, Vic Cherikoff and Benjamin Christie from the popular Australian cooking show Dining Downunder ™ were invited to host Touch and Taste Australia in Prague, from the 18th to the 25th of March 2004 at the Corinthia Tower Hotel. Touch & Taste Australia was reportedly Prague’s largest ever culinary event held in the Czech Republic since the countries independence in 1993.