Have you ever been curious about growing, cooking, or preserving native foods? A good place to start is at Bec’s native food stall at the Mullumbimby Farmers Market on Friday mornings. From bush food plants to teas, cordials, syrups, vinegars, fruit powders, and spice blends, Bec helps everyday cooks connect with Country through flavour, tradition, and nutrition.
For home gardeners, Bec recommends starting with hardy coastal edibles, such as warrigal greens, karkalla, and pigface. ‘They’re like succulents – tough and easy to grow as long as you’ve got sun and well-drained soil,’ she says. Pigface even produces a salty-sweet berry that tastes like watermelon and is perfect eaten fresh.
Shadier spots are ideal for rainforest herbs, such as native thyme and basil. ‘They love morning light but appreciate a break from the hot afternoon sun,’ Bec explains. ‘They don’t behave quite like European herbs, but they’re just as versatile.’
Curious cooks can explore bush flavours through Bec’s handmade products. Her wattleseed biscuits are a customer favourite, featuring a rich, nutty, chocolate-like flavour. ‘Wattleseed is full of protein and low GI,’ she says. ‘We roast it like coffee, grind it to a powder, turn it into mud with water, and bake with it. It’s delicious and nourishing.’
There are also antioxidant-rich fruit powders like Kakadu plum, rosella, and Davidson’s plum—ideal for sprinkling on porridge, blending into smoothies, or stirring into yoghurt. ‘Kakadu plum powder has over five times the recommended daily intake of vitamin C per teaspoon,’ Bec notes.
As scientific research begins to validate what First Nations people have long known, bush tucker is being recognised not just as food, but as powerful medicine, culture, and connection. And thanks to stallholders like Bec, it’s never been easier to learn and start using it yourself.
You will find Bec and son Isaac, from Playing with Fire, at Mullum Farmers Market every Friday, 7 am to 11 am.
This Friday, in celebration of NAIDOC Week, the market will have a Welcome to Country at 7:30 am.
