Great Cooks of the Desert

Rita Cattoni - 8CCC Radio
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  • Food

‘Great Cooks of the Desert’ is a five part radio and podcast series that explores the lives of five exemplary home cooks who call the desert home. The series looks at the challenges and joys of contemporary life in the desert, from the impact of imported grasses on traditional hunting grounds to the risky reliance on transport networks in supplying fresh produce. It also looks at the everyday reality of living thousands of kilometres from family, friends and the nearest capital city–and in a place of extreme contradictions. Produced by Rita Cattoni, host of Kitchen Radio on 8CCC 102.1FM. The series was supported by the Community Broadcasting Foundation

Episodes

  1. 11/16/2023

    A Warlpiri Cuisine

    Is there such a thing as Warlpiri cuisine? Yamurna Naparrurla Oldfield is an expert goanna hunter. A senior Warlpiri woman from the remote community of Yuendumu, Yarmuna takes us, with her extended family, to Kirridi, the hunting grounds of her childhood in this third episode of 'Great Cooks of the Desert'. Support the show: http://8ccc.com.au See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    A Warlpiri Cuisine

  2. 10/31/2023

    James Young: Leather Artisan | Cameleer | Salami Maker

    James Young is a local leather artisan and part-time cameleer. For the past three winters, James has travelled the deserts of Central Australia with his partner, three children, the family dog, three camels and a wagon. It’s his idea of a family holiday. In this episode we catchup with James while he's doing some food preparation for this year's  forthcoming camel trip. Food is an important part of the adventure and home-made salami is the ideal trail food-not requiring refrigeration and providing lots of fun and fat. Support the show: http://8ccc.com.au See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    James Young: Leather Artisan | Cameleer | Salami Maker

  3. 10/31/2023

    Flora Mpofu - From Bulawayo to Alice (Food and feelings for home)

    Originally from Zimbabwe, Flora Mpofu is part of a large community of Zimbabwean health professionals who call Alice Springs home.The ‘Zim’ (Zimbabwean) community in Alice meet regularly to speak language, to celebrate, to provide support and to keep their culture strong and vibrant. In this episode Flora prepares traditional Zimbabwean food for a bride welcoming ceremony happening later in the day. She shows us how to cook Zimbabwean food and shares the journey that brought her from Bulawayo, city of kings, to Alice Springs, Australia. Support the show: http://8ccc.com.au See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Flora Mpofu - From Bulawayo to Alice (Food and feelings for home)

  4. 10/31/2023

    Eating locally with Laurie May

    Central Australia is heavily reliant on fresh produce transported up from Adelaide via the Stuart Highway or Ghan Railway. A small amount of fruit and vegetables come from the north but not much. When there’s been a major road closure, supermarket shelves can be empty in a matter of hours. When this happened in 2022 with the closure of the Stuart Highway following a major traffic accident, you couldn’t get a single onion anywhere in Alice Springs by that evening. A small local produce market ran out of the community garden for a few years, but it’s not happening anymore. Market gardens have come and gone, and it seems incredibly hard to sustain a business growing produce here. Those who are committed to reducing their food miles and eating locally have to become home innovative cooks, determined gardeners and barterers. Laurie May is an Mparntwe based poet and media manager. She is also a great cook and gardener. In this episode we visit Laurie in her beautiful kitchen and garden and find out what it takes to eat local only in Alice Springs. Support the show: http://8ccc.com.au See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Eating locally with Laurie May

  5. 10/31/2023

    Rebecca Cadzow - Station Made Cheese

    Rebecca Cadzow lives and works on Mt Riddock Station, a long stretch that sits at the foot of the beautiful Hartz Ranges,200 kms northeast of Alice Springs.Her works days are a dizzying combination of personal support and practical skills-from mental health care check-ins with the younger staff to moving a truckload of cattle by road train to Adelaide. Rebeccaa oversees the station kitchen, which means providing three meals a day, plus morning and afternoon tea to the station crew. And then, she has taken up cheese-making using milk from her own troupe of jersey cows, just ‘for the joy of it’. Support the show: http://8ccc.com.au See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Rebecca Cadzow - Station Made Cheese
  • 5 Episodes

About

‘Great Cooks of the Desert’ is a five part radio and podcast series that explores the lives of five exemplary home cooks who call the desert home. The series looks at the challenges and joys of contemporary life in the desert, from the impact of imported grasses on traditional hunting grounds to the risky reliance on transport networks in supplying fresh produce. It also looks at the everyday reality of living thousands of kilometres from family, friends and the nearest capital city–and in a place of extreme contradictions. Produced by Rita Cattoni, host of Kitchen Radio on 8CCC 102.1FM. The series was supported by the Community Broadcasting Foundation

Information

  • Creator
    Rita Cattoni - 8CCC Radio
  • Years Active
    2023
  • Episodes
    5
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 @Ritta Cattoni
  • Show Website
    Great Cooks of the Desert