2013-06-26 — /travelprnews.com/ — The unique local and indigenous culinary delights of the Top End are set to entice visitors to the territory as part of a new travel series currently airing in New Zealand that showcases some of Australia’s finest food experiences.
Kiwi chef Al Brown hosts the new show, ‘Dishing up Australia with Al Brown’, which takes New Zealand viewers on a culinary journey through Darwin and Katherine– from a market bite at Mindil Beach Markets to cooking a giant croc tail with celebrated indigenous chef Mark Olive in Katherine.
The Northern Territory featured in the third episode which aired on TVNZ over the weekend.
Al begins his journey enjoying some of Darwin’s best experiences with the help of some local characters including champion oyster shucker “Nick the Greek” before trying his luck fishing for Barramundi and visiting “spa for crocs” to hand feed the resident crocs.
Al also meets Indigenous chef Mark Olive in Katherine to cook a giant crocodile tail the traditional way – wrapped in paperbark and baked in the ground – with the Jawoyn people at Cicada Lodge, one of Australia’s greatest indigenous experiences.
Having experienced firsthand the local delicacies and gained an insight into the ancient indigenous culture, Al summed up his journey, “this really has been an amazing trip, the Northern Territory is so unique, constantly surprising me – unreal”.
Tourism Australia Managing Director Andrew McEvoy said using well known and respected Kiwis to help tell Australia’s stories was a strategy which worked well. “It’s fantastic to have celebrated chef Al Brown experience the magic of the Northern Territory’s unique food offerings and share his journey with New Zealand viewers. “Tourism Australia has been working to share the story of Australia beyond the East coast gateways, and ‘Dishing up Australia with Al Brown’ allows Kiwi viewers to see the incredible landscape and products which can only be found in the Northern Territory,” Mr McEvoy said.
The 10 part series features a diverse range of culinary experiences in stunning settings across the length and breadth of Australia and has been produced by leading New Zealand production company, Imagination Television (makers of Masterchef New Zealand and New Zealand’s Got Talent).
The series received strong support from Tourism Northern Territory along with Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand as partner airlines. The shows will also be promoted using TVNZ’s website and Tourism Australia’s social media channels such as Facebook and YouTube.
New Zealand is Australia’s largest inbound market for visitor arrivals, and continues to grow. 1.2 million Kiwis visited Australia during 2012, spending more than A$2 billion. Tourism Australia believes that the market has the potential to grow to between A$3.4 billion and A$4.2 billion in total expenditure by 2020.
Click here: www.australia.com/AlBrown
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“Dishing Up” With Mark Olive