Chefs flip script on harmful plants and animals that don't belong in local area: 'We are lucky to have these ingredients'

Some Australians are putting more than shrimp on the barbie. Delicious reports some of the region's top culinary pros are using wild and invasive species to save the outback and avoid food waste.

Invasive species are dangerous since they often multiply quickly and overrun spaces. However, their abundance can provide more food sources for those willing to use them.

For example, Cam Hines, co-founder of Southern Seagreens, told Delicious that native golden kelp is "the most sustainable crop in the world." Hines gave the seaweed this moniker since it doesn't need fertilizer, freshwater, or soil to grow. 

His team also explores more plant-based options through invasive wakame. The marine plant grows in dense mats and "releases up to a million spores" before dying off annually. 

Jo Barrett, Harvey Norman Produce Awards National Judge and chef, also used the invasive wakame in sauces, pickling, and salad dressings at her former restaurant, Little Picket. She's since moved on to creating pies and sausage rolls filled with wild invasive deer, wallaby, and goat.

"We are lucky to have these ingredients," Barrett told Delicious.

Speaking of wallaby, it's a native wild marsupial that can prevent native bush regeneration, deplete understories, cause soil erosion, and eat pasture meant for farmstock, according to the Gisborne District Council. The owner of Bruny Island Game Meat, Richard Clark, sells it to hotels and restaurants as it's a "clean source of protein" and a low-fat option for meat eaters — just don't overcook it.

Until recently, Australians ignored using water buffalo for sustenance despite the animal producing the second-most-consumed milk globally behind cow milk, according to MedicineNet. 

That's where Elena and Andrei Swegen of Burraduc Buffalo Dairy come in. While never removing calves from mothers before weaning is complete, the couple humanely makes buffalo-milk feta, yogurt, mozzarella, curd cheese, and cottage cheese from milk rich in vitamins such as A, C, and B12, potassium, and calcium.

Cooking with invasive species is uncharted territory that fosters both professional innovation and eco-friendliness. One London chef has turned Japanese knotweed — dubbed the "U.K.'s most damaging plant" — into gourmet meals. Oregon even has an annual event for chefs to show off their invasive-based cooking.

Which sustainable cooking change are you most interested in trying? Reducing my food waste 🗑️ Eating more plant-based foods 🥕 Using high-tech kitchen tools 🍳 Not interested 🚫 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

Uncontrolled invasiveness can destroy vegetative habitats, putting species like pollinators at risk. A healthy predator-prey balance prevents herbivore overgrazing and carnivore starvation. This biodiversity acts as carbon sponges that prevent the climate from overheating and making more places unbearable to live.

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