ABOUT US
Take a stroll through the bush with us, and see the world through our eyes.
Forage
Treating palates, through seasonal flavours, inspired by the wild.
Ziggy’s Wildfoods hand sources as many of its star ingredients as possible from the wild.
When suppliers talk about farm produce seasonality - our mindset is instead hyperseasonal.
The plants, seaweeds, flowers, fungi, fruits and leaves with which we draw inspiration are only available for a fraction of time in the year, within narrow climate bands - and often more than a handful of luck is needed for the stars to align!
We respectfully collect what we can, from what is available in the wild nearby - up high and down low - and ferment, dry, cure, brine and pickle as much as possible - to make the most of the abundance.
This is our pantry.
Although definitely not the simplest way - it is, however, absolutely the most wonderful of ways. It’s what separates our products from anything else on the Australian market.
We do things a little differently here. And we’re thrilled about that.
Ferment
All of our creations undergo natural fermentation to create flavour packed, preservative free, magical tastebud adventures.
Throughout human history - fermenting, curing and pickling foods have allowed our ancestors to preserve seasonal abundance, develop flavour complexity, and extend the shelf life of delicate ingredients like flowers, fruits, milk & meat - to near indefinite.
We follow these exact same techniques, preserving artisan skills in the process.
This allows us to naturally create preservative free, long shelf life, and flavour packed creations.
Utilising natural Australian sea salt, own-made fruit vinegars, dehydrated wild foraged spices and wild yeast fermented bases - we create and showcase traditional methods for creating the absolute finest food and beverage products anywhere in the country.
We do things this way, because quite simply - it’s ultimately the best way.
Flavour
Our refined palate and adventurous spirit alchemises unexpected wild ingredients into tantalising, award-winning products.
Our favourite wild aromatics
-
Native Lemon Myrtle
Bright, floral and very lemony!
-
Native Thyme
Earthy, with a scent that lives between rosemary & thyme.
-
Native Anise Myrtle
Sweet, spiced and enchanting on the nose.
-
Native River Mint
Minty with a blackberry aroma!
Our favourite wild fruits
-
Native Davidson Plum
Tart, bright and exceptionally sour.
-
Native Lilly Pilly
Juicy, cranberry acidity with green apple flavours.
-
Native Raspberry
Foresty scent, with a familiar raspberry flavour.
-
Native Kakadu Plum
Reminiscent of stewed apples and pears.
Our favourite wild seaweeds
-
Sea Lettuce
Flavours of crunchy cucumbers with sea salt.
-
Golden Kelp
Total umami and extremely versatile.
-
Neptune's Necklace
Tasty popping sections filled with salty seawater delights.
-
Dead Man's Fingers
Crunchy with an sweet yet intensely ocean brine flavour.
Our favourite wild spices
-
Native Dorrigo Pepper
Far hotter than its Tasmanian cousin, with a strong nasal-clearing intensity, and mouth numbing ride.
-
Native Tasmanian Pepper
A very spicy black pepper, with flavours a cross between Sichuan pepper and clove.
-
Native Cinnamon Myrtle
Pleasant, spicy cinnamon-like aroma and flavour.
-
Native Old Man Saltbush
Salty, edible leaves - best used as a herb, or dried for a saline sprinkle.
FAQs
-
We forage for them ourselves or partner with wild harvesters who forage on our behalf. We only do business with First Nations owned and run organizations directly through the communities themselves. We don’t buy from wholesalers or commercial farm operations if we’re titling it as wild.
-
We mean it was foraged for in the wilderness of Australia directly or by our partner harvesters, not farmed or grown in a greenhouse. It also means only on public land, or private land with permission. Sometimes people even invite us into their backyards because they’re simply overrun with fresh ingredients. We never, ever jump fences, steal, or harvest from national parks.
-
Where we go is where we’re pursuing certain ingredients. A certain climate band or a certain area. For wild seaweeds, maybe southwestern NSW where the water is clean and they’re abundant. For mushrooms, the pine forests in Armadale or the Blue Mountains. Or for rainforest fruits, we look towards northern NSW. So depending on what we’re seeking, and the time of year, that’s what we’re looking for.
For particular aromatics like Anise Myrtle, which are only found in a specific region, we go there.
-
Everything we create is all natural. We don’t use any preservatives or additives. Basically, we carefully use sea salt or sugar or vinegar to pickle, ferment, preserve. We have to carefully monitor the process, percentages, temperature, climate, to make sure it can preserve itself naturally to the point that it’s so self-preserved that it takes care of itself. We don’t have to do anything.
Now you’re left with an all-natural product. No sodium benzoates or chlorides — or additives which can be hidden and don’t need to be written on labels in Australia. For certain preservatives that are derived from natural sources, they don’t even have to be disclosed.
Using the skill we gained from ancient knowledge from around the world, with just sea salt, we can make a product that can sit on your table for two years without going off.
-
For starters, we find partners directly working in their local communities — no exploitative middlemen — and we pay them exactly what they ask for. Many wholesalers underpay, a practice we condemn in the strongest possible terms.
Our indigenous partners are the real experts with millennia of experience cultivating and harvesting these special ingredients, we merely support them and provide an audience. By creating indulgent, Michelin-quality foods with these ingredients, we show the world their true value and give their communities equal access to our nation’s prosperity.
-
Through a long, long journey across 55 countries over almost a decade.
Gabriel's interest in cultural foods from around the world came from watching cooking TV shows as a kid. As soon as he was old enough, he got on a plane to see the world. Eventually he started travelling specifically with the purpose of working and volunteering in interesting places to learn about wild foods and foraging and cooking and fermenting.
He lived in Spain for 9 months to learn about olives, harvesting wild mushrooms, cheese making, wine fermentation. In Poland he learned from the unsung masters of fermentation. In Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia he learned all about seasonality, umami, and preservation.
About halfway through his journey, Gabriel went to cullinary school in Croatia to back up his half-decade of learning with official certifications. Now qualified, he began work as a fine-dining chef and started training and teaching the myriad skills he learned during his travels.
-
From Gabriel:
"I have lived and absorbed culture from food around the world as if I was creating my palette of colours. We’ve got endless coastlines, with unlimited seaweed for example. Excellent, so does Asia. So we cWn look to their skill to know what do with it. In Mexico, they ferment chillis and add insects. Do we have edible insects in Australia? Yep? Fantastic, add it in. The majority of humans alive today are eating insects. Our version of modern dining actually puts us in the minority.
Then inspiration comes seasonally, from ideas that are found growing together. From watching the seasons evolve throughout the year, and what is naturally available. For example, wild coffee is a weed in NSW. If you know what to look for, you can forage your own coffee in NSW. It was out two months earlier last year because it wasn’t as wet. From seeing it, following it for two months, and noticing it change, all of a sudden, “Oh, it’s coffee season!” And you have to act immediately."