Seabelle's bush tucker

EACH day Kingfisher Bay Resort gardeners collect lemon myrtle from a small native garden on Fraser Island, as indigenous Australians have done for many years.

Kingfisher Bay's chefs have long led the bush tucker charge using native ingredients. Picture: Contributed

EACH day Kingfisher Bay Resort gardeners collect lemon myrtle from a small native garden on Fraser Island, as indigenous Australians have done on the mainland for thousands of years.

Aboriginal people traditionally used lemon myrtle, both in cuisine and as a healing plant.

Queensland Tourism Awards Best Restaurant nominee, Seabelle, serves theirs to resort guests with red tofu curry or as a lemon myrtle panna cotta.

Kingfisher Bay's chefs have long led the bush tucker charge - using native ingredients such as bunya nuts and pepperberries to great effect in Seabelle, which is their signature restaurant.

They add wattle seeds to their jus and bush spices to couscous, garnish with nasturtiums, and serve barramundi baked in paperbark.

Their mango dacquoise with lilly pilly and mango pulp is a real crowd pleaser.

Kangaroo, emu and crocodile steaks are also back on the menu.

Bush foods are sourced from the resort's native garden and herb farm in season and from wholesalers specialising in Australian bush foods.

The small, native garden also produces a selection of 16 herbs for Seabelle's kitchen as well as native bush foods such as warrigal greens, lemon and aniseed myrtle.

From the resort grounds sour currants, midjim berries, lily pillys, lemon tea tree, banksias and paperbark are used when in season.

Best restaurant will be announced in November.

Originally published as Seabelle's bush tucker