This image of a Pavlova by Belinda Cave from Pixabay shows just how mouth-watering they can be – Merangue, Thickened Cream, and Fruit, how can you go wrong!? Cropped by Mike.

A Tale Of Australian Cuisine

I have the advantage of living in a country which is remote from just about everywhere, in which much of the culture has been imported from Europe and the US, and parts of Asia. That’s particularly true when it comes to diet.

Our basic recipes have all been imported from elsewhere, modified to suit local needs and local conditions and local produce, and repackaged as Dinky-Di True-Blue Australian. Even when they aren’t, or the claims are a little questionable – did New Zealand really invent the Pavlova? They certainly think so!

A growing trend in the late 20th century and into the 21st has been the use of native ingredients (rather than imported stock). We are the only country in the world that doesn’t blink at the notion of eating our national symbols (the kangaroo and emu, chosen because neither can walk backwards). Offer an American a serving of bald eagle, and they would be horrified (setting aside the fact that they’re an endangered species) – it would be an affront to their patriotism.

These native ingredients have exotic names and unusual flavors. Typically, they will get substituted into existing recipes, many of which are variations on the imported originals.

Australian Burgers often have beetroot and sometimes pineapple on them. Australian Pizza is different from both Italian and American in small and subtle ways. Australian Chinese Food is different from American Chinese Food and from Chinese Chinese Food.

The great foodie explosion here over the last couple of decades has eroded some of those distinctions, as though serving the Australianized Dishes was low-brow and gauche, while serving the traditional versions is exotic and up-market. This ignores the fact that the Australianized versions became popular for a reason. The inroads being made by “native ingredients” can be seen as a cultural counter-movement to this highfalutin’ pretentiousness, a way to Australianize recipes that is culinarily-acceptable in the face of this search for “authenticity.”

A Tale Of Tales

Cooking programs on TV have exploded in popularity right alongside these trends. Masterchef Australia – an Australianized version of a British show that failed – is now shown in more than 40 countries and rates highly in all of them. In part, that’s because we are a natural melting pot which is quite prepared to mix one good idea with another and see what happens.

We have never been so well-served with information about food. The US has a ‘food network’ on Cable TV – we have one cooking channel Free-To-Air, and until recently, had two, and neither of the two best-rating food shows on TV were shown on either. Almost every major network has its own food shows, some more than others. At first, there was a tendency to schedule these in direct competition with each other, but eventually the network executives figured out that a lot of people would watch BOTH if given the chance. Competition between the shows is still strong – but its’ no longer direct.

A Tale Of Names

I’m sure most people will have heard of Top Gear – it used to be the BBC’s #1 export around the world. They did a special in two parts called “The Ultimate Road Trip”, and then a sequel, “The Ultimate Road Trip II” (also in two parts). A major plot thread in the second pair of specials revolved around one of the presenters, Richard Hammond, discovering that the only place Spaghetti Bolognaise is named that is outside of Italy – in Bologna itself, the name refers to a completely different dish.

I’m sure that to many viewers in Britain and the US, this was an astonishing discovery. It certainly wasn’t news to me, or to a great many other Australians, though; we had learned the fact from “Food: Fact or Fiction” or from “Good Eats” or from any one of a dozen celebrity chefs who have mentioned it in the course of various programs – and I think it was even mentioned in a Masterchef Australia Masterclass back in the early days.

Nevertheless, the name has stuck, and been carried world-wide, and the dish itself is responsible for a significant part of the tourism enjoyed by Bologna (or it was, until Covid-19).

Nor is it the only example. Place names have been attached to an extraordinary number of dishes through the years, such as

Boston Cream Pie, Philly Cheese-steak, Buffalo Wings, Boston Baked Beans, Mississippi Mud Pie, Nashville Hot Chicken, Long Island Iced Tea, Chicken Kiev, Singapore Noodles, Swedish Meatballs, Bisque (believed named for the Bay Of Biscay), Cantaloupe (transplanted from Persia to the Papal Gardens in Cantalupo near Rome), Fig Newton (actually invented in Philadelphia), Frankfurter – the list just goes on and on.

Add in the number of dishes named for people, like Peach Melba, Fettuccine Alfredo, Caesar Salad, Carpaccio, Bananas Foster, Frangipane Tarts, Earl Grey Tea, Kung Pao Chicken (named for a late Qing Dynasty official whose title was Gong Bao, or Palace Guardian), Margherita Pizza, Bloody Mary, Mornay Sauce, Nachos, Napoleon Brandy, Oysters Rockefeller, the aforementioned-Pavlova, Praline, Strawberries Romanoff, Salisbury Steak, Beef Stroganoff, Crepes Suzette, and (most famously), Sandwiches – to name just a few of the ones most people will recognize.

Add in the still-greater number of examples of produce named for either of these two things – Moreton Bay Bugs come to mind (a type of seafood), and Barramundi (a fish). And Philadelphia Cream Cheese (which actually comes from New York, it was named thus to give it Cache in an era when Philadelphia was a culinary giant in the US), Vidalia Onions, Brussels Sprouts, John Dory, Boysenberries, Galliano (liqueur), and Bartlett Pears

Names are not always a reliable guide to origins. Aside from the Spaghetti Bolognaise example mentioned earlier, consider: French Toast (actually English), Creme Anglais (French), Welsh Rarebit or Welsh Rabbit (English), English Muffins (American), Scotch Eggs (English), Swiss Cheese (American), Hawaiian Pizza (Canadian), Szechuan Ginger Beef (Canadian), Dom Perignon (Champagne), Mongolian Barbecue (a Taiwanese Stir-fry!), and Mongolian Beef (which doesn’t come from Mongolia).

Then there are Places named after foods – Oyster Bay, for example.

There are two phenomena at work here of which a GM should be cognizant: The human appetite for variety and exotic flavors – i.e. the “Native Ingredients” trend – and the use (and misuse) of people and places in food names.

The “Native Ingredients” Trend

If it looks edible, a human will eventually stick it in their mouth. If it doesn’t or isn’t, another human will cut it open to see if part of it is edible. If the answer is still no go, still more humans will try to find a way of cooking or processing the ingredient to make it palatable.

Combine all that with the multitude of exotic creatures found in a D&D campaign – a multitude that should be matched if not exceeded by the number of exotic plants in any rational bio-system – and you have a cornucopia of new dishes awaiting invention and naming.

And that’s before we even get into the culinary traditions of the other sentient races.

The Famous Names Trend

Famous people of the past, famous places, and obscure places that just happened to invent something, sometime, should all be reflected in the names of the exotic produce and exotic recipes that should fill your culinary landscape.

These name-drops should come without explanation, for the most part – they should simply be there, part of the landscape, a moment of color.

That changes when the PCs travel to or through one of these locations. Locals should revel in the distinction that comes from being the source of a famous dish (if correctly attributed), and PCs should be told of expectations (whether it’s true or not). I understand that tourist requests for Spaghetti Bolognaise are greatly irritating to chefs from Bologna (though the waiters don’t let on, of course). To give in would be to undermine the true individuality and identity of the region – so if you want what you think is a Spag Bol, you should ask for a Beef Ragout (pronounced Rag-ooh).

A geography of Cuisine

In addition, there should be some dishes that are common in one geographic area and rare elsewhere – in Lapland, reindeer meat is easily available, but elsewhere, it is uncommon, while other forms of deer meat are exotic but not unheard of.

Remember, too, that most preservatives were unknown, but that various techniques of preparing food to last were not – and that if it’s on the menu, someone has to go out and get it.

Pate de Flambe Draco sounds exciting – but it would be dreadfully expensive if it really derives from the Livers of Red Dragons, costing hundreds or thousands of gold an ounce. Unless, of course, it’s something rather more common with strong spices and the name is misleading.

Play games with the foods, and the names of foods, in your campaign – both to entertain yourself and your players, and to earn a little extra verisimilitude on the side. That’s a winning dish in my book!