“I like being able to create something that taps into Bininj culture and help share Bininj culture, which is our mission,” says Ben Tyler, owner of Kakadu Kitchen.
Ben Tyler, a very proud Bininj man, based between Darwin and Kakadu, began his entrepreneurial journey with limited resources.
The business began with his family community kitchen garden in the heart of Kakadu. Starting out of his mother’s garden with 3 chillie plants, it was quickly overflowing with Indigenous and exotic fruits, vegetables, and herbs.
Mr Tyler says he wanted to start a bush tucker family legacy business in part so he and his family from current and future generations could 100 per cent live, work and study from his remote Indigenous family homeland Patonga Homestead aka Murdudjurl Community in Kakadu.
“I’m an artist by heart. I did not intend to go into a business. I sort of fell into it by need to do something in my community,” Mr Tyler says.
“I like being able to create something that taps into Bininj culture and help share Bininj culture, which is our mission.”
Kakadu Kitchen has gone from strength to strength and is one of the leading First Nations businesses featured in Tourism NT’s new campaign, ‘, showcasing the unforgettable Aboriginal experiences in the Northern Territory.
Kakadu Kitchen’s flagship products and projects include:
- First Nations branded spring water (a healthy alternative to sugary drinks)
- An-marabula Native Peach Bellini (alcohol-free health drink for the sober curious) available since November 2022
- Permission from Kakadu National Park to wild harvest Kakadu native botanicals
- Ben Tyler has applied for permission to start an eco-friendly bush tucker vertical farm in Kakadu
Through the 'Culture is closer than you think' campaign, Tourism NT is hoping to shine a light on the Northern Territory’s First Nations Australians and their dynamic stories of leadership as they share 65,000 years of knowledge from the world’s oldest living culture to educate and inspire.
Mr Tyler says he's up for the challenge and continues experimenting with traditional bush tucker ingredients and modern cooking styles to bring ethically sourced native foods to the masses.
He says his kitchen spans an area as large as 20,000 square kilometres and was 65,000 years in the making, alluding to its roots in Aboriginal culture.
“Every month, with my head chef, we hold a full moon Kakadu feast called DID, D - I - D which you can book online at Kakadu Tourism. We hold the event every full moon or every Saturday before the full moon following the six seasons of Kakadu,” he said.
“We forage with family leading up to the dinner… We’ve chosen the seasonality of the moon to show the seasonality of the ingredients and the country and life on Kakadu.”
Mr Tyler’s endeavours have received world-wide acclaim including by Kimbal Musk (Elon’s brother) and the United Nations.
