The term “Modern Australian” was first coined in 1996 in the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide. This style of cooking has variously been known as international, mod-oz, fusion or contemporary and denotes a culinary culture that is the result of a collision of cuisines from around the world.

Modern Australian cuisine has been embraced in Australia as we search for a unique food culture to call our own, yet unashamedly takes its inspiration from countries all over the world.

Native Australian bush tucker sustained Aboriginals for thousands of years. However when the first settlers arrived over 200 years ago they looked to the motherland for their culinary inspiration. British traditions such as the Sunday roast, meat pies and “meat with three veg” still permeate Australian food culture.

The Gold Rush of the mid-19th century brought an influx of Chinese immigrants to Australia. When the rush petered, many Chinese immigrants remained in Australia and turned to market gardening and cooking, thus leading the traditionally British palettes on a tour of the Orient. Chinese restaurants can still be found in almost every Australian town, many serving Westernised dishes such as sweet and sour pork and beef with black bean. As the Australian palette has developed, so too has the complexity of these Chinese dishes.

The second great culinary revolution came post WWII, with massive European immigration in the 1950s and ‘60s. As the Mediterranean immigrants poured in, so too did spaghetti, youvetsi and baba ganoush.

Australia’s liberation from a traditional food culture of its own has allowed innovation to flourish in our kitchens, however it is important to note that “Modern Australian” cuisine is not far removed from other International food cultures such as those in America.

The fusion food found in fine dining restaurants today often combines Asian and European traditions, cooking styles and ingredients. It is found in some of the best restaurants all over the world.

Television, internet and international travel ensure that if there is a new culinary technology being employed successfully in a restaurant in Spain, it won’t take long to find it replicated in some form in Australia.

Modern Australian cuisine brings us the eclectic menus that can be found in pubs and clubs around the country; dishes such as pasta, laksa, bangers and mash and crème caramel all sit side by side on the menu card.

In fine dining restaurants the trend has also been to mix different cultural influences from around the world, however the styles tend to be more closely linked with fusion food combining these different flavours and techniques on the one plate.