Sharing culture plate by plate
The secret to a successful potluck isn’t the food – it’s the great story behind every dish.
At Stories from the Kitchen, a series of events which celebrate Logan’s vibrant multiculturalism, attendees are invited to bring a plate that reminds them of home.
Each table features a colourful array of dishes, from Croatian stuffed and Kiwi kumara bake to Burmese sticky rice delicately wrapped in banana leaves.
One by one, guests explain the origin of their dish and what it means to them.
Aunty Heather Castledine, an Aboriginal cultural consultant, followed her mother’s recipe and brought in a pot of hearty kangaroo stew.
“Kangaroo was tough meat for tough times, but mum always cooked it up well with great damper and fried scones.”
— Aunty Heather Castledine
Lifting the lid of the pot, Aunty Heather describes vivid memories of her father bringing back a leg of kangaroo after a long day of work.
Born in St. George, Aunty Heather grew up in a family of nine and is a descendant of Cunnamulla’s Hooper family.
Although their family struggled, she only has fond memories of the dinner table.
‘I remember sitting around the table and watching my mother cook,’ Aunty Heather says.
‘Kangaroo was tough meat for tough times, but mum always cooked it up well with great damper and fried scones.
‘She made sure we always sat down to eat together as family, as food is what kept us together when things were tough.’
To make the dish as authentic as possible, Aunty Heather used ingredients like sweet potato and celery to mirror the wild grasses her mother would collect.
Like potluck dinners, the City of Logan is rich in diversity and there’s space for absolutely everyone.
‘I came down and fell in love with this place – Logan is where I want to be,’ Aunty Heather says.
If you’d like to be part of the community and explore culture through food, don’t miss the next Stories from the Kitchen event.
By June Ho
