Australia is well known for its wine and lamb. But what about its local food culture? Aside from my hometown Outback Steakhouse and listening to Men at Work toot about vegemite sandwiches, I've been pretty ignorant to the local food scene in Australia. So on a recent trip to Melbourne, I coaxed an authentic Australian mate (my husband) away from the cricket to show me how the locals eat and drink. More

We don't have set lunches or cafeteria's over here. We have canteens, which mean that kids buy what they want off the menus each day. You can also do "lunch orders" (normally only in primary school), where you or your parents write exactly what you want on a brown paper bag and it's then delivered back to your classroom just before lunch.... More

In the part of Australia that I lived in for most of my life we had very few "festivals" as such. What we did have, though, was the Royal Show. Every year the Royal Show tours Australia, stopping at untold amounts of places along the way. One of, if not the, most common foods at the Royal Show was the Dagwood Dog, also known as the Pluto Pup. Essentially just a hot dog on a stick, dipped in batter then deep-fried, this is an absolute thing of beauty. More

...Of course no proper Australian pantry would be without the ever-present jar of Vegemite, oh prized production of our great nation. This staple is generally purchased in massive amounts, as it never seems to go off, and consumed just as enthusiastically (at least by me).... More

telegraph.co.uk Happy 50th, Barbie. The Telegraph reports that a 2.1 meter tall cake, the biggest Barbie cake in history, was displayed on the First Fleet Steps of the Botanic Gardens in Sydney, Australia. That should feed all her friends and coworkers, as she's been a pediatrician, Air Force jet pilot, sign-language teacher, McDonald's cashier, Malibu beach bum, plastic corvette driver, and many other noble professions. Related Barbie's Celebrity Chef Moment: 'I Can Be TV Chef Playset' Photo of the Day: Ox Tongue Angel Barbie Creative Photos of Dolls and Food From Boopsiedaisy... More

Is the above photo too food porny for your delicate eyes? Probably not. Phil Lees of Australia-based food blog The Last Appetite talks about the Australian government's upcoming attempt to censor the Internet. Food blogs aren't illegal, but Lees points out that "the first websites to be banned as 'false positives', (where a site that the filter says is illegal, but is in fact, not) will be food websites." If you disapprove, Lees provides information for how you can protest the censorship, and you can sign a petition at GetUp!.... More

Gordon Ramsay's plan for world domination is making progress. His fourth branch of Maze (with outlets already in London, New York, and Prague) is slated to open in Melbourne in February 2010. [via Coldmud]... More

Photograph from uhuru1701 on Flickr According to Dr. George Wilson of the Australian Wildlife Services, we should switch from eating beef to kangaroos to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Unlike cows and sheep, who produce harmful methane gas, kangaroos produce almost no methane gas. They also have cleaner poop and produce lean, free-range meat! But what does kangaroo tastes like? "It tastes excellent, not unlike venison—only a different flavour," says Dr. Wilson. If you've eaten kangaroo before, what do you think of it?... More

Perhaps more known for his expletive-laced tirades more than he is for his restaurants, Gordon Ramsay is now facing an inquiry from the Australian Senate "for filling the television with an astounding volume of foul language": The Australian Senate inquiry was prompted by wide protests against Mr. Ramsay’s coarse vocabulary, which is not bleeped out on Australian television because the show is broadcast after 8:30 p.m. Viewers pummeled the station with complaints anyway, the Catholic Church wanted the show dropped, and several senators, as The Telegraph of Britain delicately put it, “were outraged by the British chef’s turn of phrase.” The inquiry was prompted after Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi saw an episode of Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares and was horrified by... More

Add beets, and you have got an Aussie Burger. Is there anything greater than the breakfast burger? I love a decent burger, and if you top it with an over easy egg, something magical happens. And that magic is called egg yolk, covering your burger in gooey goodness. Last week I sampled the breakfast burger from Goodburger (a slightly upscale, NYC burger chain) along with some co-workers, one of whom remarked, "Add some beets to this, and you've got an Aussie Burger." Come again? Beets? Now that sounds like something I could get into.... More