Aunty Beryl has been cooking bush food since her childhood in Walgett, New South Wales and knows a thing or two about making a meal from the land. Now in her 70s, her diverse career in the kitchen has spanned over 50 years.
In her 20s, Aunty Beryl moved from rural New South Wales, to work as a Nanny for a family in Sydney. It was during this time that she decided to pursue her underlying passion for food. “I never wanted to do anything else,” she says. “I loved to cook and I knew that there would always be employment in the hospitality industry.” To kickstart her career in the kitchen, she worked at Wunanbiri Preschool as the cook and later began a course in food technology at TAFE. After graduating in 1980, she was asked by the university to remain as a teacher which she did for 15 years.
In 2006 Aunty Beryl was invited to run courses at Yaama Dhiyaan Hospitality Training College. Working five days a week, she has seen many students from aged 17-60 years old come and go from the Darlington-based school. “They’re being trained to go out into the workforce and make something of themselves,” she says. The six-week-course prepares them for a career in hospitality, whether it be becoming a barista, a chef, or a café manager. What makes the course truly unique is Aunty Beryl’s lessons in bush food which shows the students the potential of these sometimes overlooked ingredients.“Something that I can say is that I can light up a fire just about anywhere and cook a meal,” she says. “I even cooked Christmas dinner just last year for a large gathering. One of my friends just couldn’t believe I was able to perfect a pudding on an open fire, but that’s just something you know when you’ve grown up where I’m from.”
Aunty Beryl’s accomplishments don’t stop at educating, she also owns The Gardener’s Lodge Cafe and Biri Biri where she employs her graduate students. Serving traditional bush food with a contemporary twist, customers are treated to kangaroo and stout pie with garlic mash and bush tomato sauce, or tasty beer battered fish and chips with a lemon myrtle aioli sauce.
By following her passion for food and flavours of the bush, Aunty Beryl has come a long way since her nannying days. With no plans to slow down anytime soon, you can continue to find The Queen of Bush Tucker cooking and inspiring those around her to follow their dreams.
Gardener’s Lodge Café
Victoria Park
Corner City & Parramatta Roads
0467091423
Photography by Susannah Thai
THE WISE AT WORK 