Charcoal Lane marks NAIDOC Week and its second birthday

Mission Australia’s Charcoal Lane, Melbourne's unique Australian and native cuisine restaurant, is marking NAIDOC Week by celebrating its two year anniversary of helping young Indigenous people get a start in hospitality.

Since opening in July 2009, Charcoal Lane has served almost 30,000 diners and hosted over 100 events, including the successful Taste of Reconciliation Bridge Lunch in March as part of the Melbourne International Food and Wine Festival. Charcoal Lane has quickly become recognised as one of Melbourne’s best dining experiences and scored 14/20 in The Age’s prestigious Good Food Guide 2011.

The fine dining restaurant provides hospitality training and personal development for Aboriginal and disadvantaged young people in partnership with the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service and the William Angliss Institute of TAFE.

Yet a more telling sign of success, according to Head Chef Richard Wills, is that students have graduated from the award-winning training program and moving into full-time employment.

“Having left home myself at the age of 14 I know how hard it can be to get a foothold in a good kitchen. This is a fantastic opportunity for these young people to build some really useful skills and get a head start in a great industry” Wills says.

One of these students is Marley Kennedy (pictured bottom left), who is graduating with a Certificate III in Hospitality.

“Without the support of Charcoal Lane I wouldn’t have the same confidence that I do now. I’ve been able to meet some really great people who have inspired me to have careers just like them,” Marley said.

Marley has been nominated for Koori Student of the Year in the Victorian Training Awards and is now hoping for an opportunity to work in a resort in Uluru where she can combine cooking food and travel – two things she loves.


Further reading:

• Taste of Reconciliation dinner
• 'Fantastic food and spirit of a fair go come together' at Charcoal Lane

'Fantastic food and spirit of a fair go come together' at Charcoal Lane

There's been a lot of talk about Mission Australia's Charcoal Lane restaurant recently in the Melbourne press, with the Fitzroy social enterprise making the pages of The Age and Melbourne City newspaper.

This month the restaurant was the setting for the 'Lunch with…' column, with Peter Freier, the Archbishop of Melbourne, enjoying its native-flavoured dishes.

The Age's Danny Zwartz wrote that "The choice of Charcoal Lane is typical of his attention to detail and unerring political eye. It is a pleasant restaurant serving good food but he is also supporting disadvantaged young people - not least through the publicity he will bring - as well as deflecting possible criticism about the archbishop being seen doing something as frivolous as lunch."

He also noted that the restaurant, which trains young Aboriginal people and other local youth in hospitality, was a natural choice for the Archbishop, who had worked with Indigenous communities on Thursday Island an in Kowanyama and Yarrabar.

Dishes featured included saltbush lamb, pan-seared salmon, Sydney rock oysters with cider dressing and finger limes, yam fritters with bush tomato chutney, and flourless mandarin meringue cake and cheese were among the native-flavoured dishes that were highlighted.

Last month the restaurant also received a glowing review in the Melbourne City Newspaper.

Kimberly Yu wrote that "Fantastic food and the spirit of a fair go come together at Fitzroy's Charcoal Lane.

"The restaurant's innovative use of native meat and bush spices combines seamlessly with more familiar offerings, producing mouth-watering dishes like native peppered kangaroo fillet with a shallot and bush tomato tart, topped with a rosella flower jus," she added.

Head Chef Craig Hicks has been on a mission to bring "fresh tastes to the menu, incorporating his experience in some of the best kitchens in Asia, Europe and Australia into the new menu.

"I'm passionate about incorporating Australian Indigenous ingredients such as lilli pillies and quandongs with Asian flavours, which I don't think anyone else has achieved," he said, adding that kangaroo was the biggest drawcard.

Craig said he was looking forward to showing students the array of possibilities for a career in hospitality. Under his guidance, the trainees now make bread twice a day and also learning to make cheeses.

The restaurant - a partnership between Mission Australia, the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service and William Angliss Institute - provides 30 traineeships and 12 apprenticeships a year.

Charcoal Lane staff and trainees are preparing to host another Taste of Reconciliation event on the 25 May. The event is the second annual corporate dinner and will feature keynote speakers such as Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Jeanette Powell, and Chief Operating Officer and CEO Institutional Clients Group, Citi Australia and New Zealand, Stephen Roberts. Visit www.tasteofreconciliation.org for more information.

Charcoal Lane is at 136 Gertrude St, Fitzroy. Open Tuesday to Sunday from noon to 3pm and 6pm to 10pm. Call (03) 9418 3400, email eat@charcoallane.com.au, or visit www.charcoallane.com.au

Further reading:

• Lunch with…Philip Freier at Charcoal Lane
• Previous Charcoal Lane news

Sun shines on Charcoal Lane event

Sunshine and a stunning location provided Charcoal Lane students with the perfect conditions for showing off their talents at Sunday’s Taste of Reconciliation Bridge Lunch.

Guests at Melbourne’s Sandridge Bridge and Southbank enjoyed a four-course meal prepared and served by staff from Mission Australia’s Charcoal Lane social enterprise restaurant.

Some of the native-inspired dishes included rice paper rolls, house-cured kangaroo prosciutto with shrimps and ruby red chilli, and mountain pepper salmon pastrami with avocado puree.

Mains ranged from king fish with palm sugar, soy mirin glaze, finger lime and salt bush salad with a kumara puree to slow-cooked lamb rump, wild thyme and bush tomato chutney, native mint young potatoes.

The desserts were also infused with Indigenous flavours. Diners had the choice of ending lunch with a raspberry and rosella flower cannelloni; baked lemon Aspen tart and vanilla panna cotta with passionberry jelly.

This 2011 Melbourne Food and Wine Festival event was held on the Yarra's iconic Sandridge Bridge - a symbol of bridging the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

Among the guests was Yorta Yorta Elder Pam Pederson, who enjoyed the opportunity to sample Charcoal Lane and make friends: "Thank you so much for inviting me to the luncheon and what a beautiful day,” she told Mission Australia’s organisers after lunch. “I just so enjoyed meeting new people and talking to them."

The Charcoal Lane trainees who served and prepared food also enjoyed the day, according to the social enterprise’s Youth Support Worker Shera Angela: "The students had a great time and did really well. We are very proud of their efforts and perseverance on such a warm day."

Pictured, from left: Paul Bird, Mission Australia’s State Director Victoria, with Rod Jackson, CEO of the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service and Susan Riley, City of Melbourne Deputy Lord Mayor.

Media Release: 300 Melbournians to get a taste of reconciliation on Sandridge Bridge

In a first for Melbourne, Sandridge Bridge will be closed to host 300 guests for the inaugural Taste of Reconciliation: Bridge Lunch on Sunday 6 March 2011 as part of the Melbourne International Food and Wine Festival.

Taste of Reconciliation: Bridge Lunch is a sumptuous four-course lunch designed and served by Charcoal Lane that celebrates the11th anniversary of the Bridge Walks for Reconciliation.

Sandridge Bridge and the surrounding area is significant to Aboriginal history in Melbourne and has been a meeting place of peoples and cultures for centuries including the Indigenous Wurundjeri and Bunurong peoples.

Guests from 1pm to 4pm will be treated to a four-course meal of contemporary Australian cuisine infused with native flavours, while local Indigenous leaders share their stories.

Charcoal Lane’s Head Chef Craig Hicks said the Taste of Reconciliation: Bridge Lunch is set to be an unforgettable dining experience.

“The historic significance of Sandridge Bridge will set the scene for a unique celebration of Indigenous culture and food,” Mr Hicks said.

“We will start with canapés in Queensbridge Square before moving to Sandridge Bridge for the remaining courses, which will be served with matched wines.”

The event will be held as part of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival and is supported by Aboriginal Affairs Victoria and The City of Melbourne.

Deputy Lord Mayor, Susan Riley said: “The City of Melbourne is pleased to partner with Mission Australia for this wonderful event.”

Tickets for the four-course lunch are $120, with all proceeds going towards Mission Australia’s Charcoal Lane for programs to provide hospitality training and personal development for young Aboriginals and other disadvantaged youth.

More information about the event can be found at: http://www.tasteofreconciliation.org/

Booking enquiries can be made through Charcoal Lane, contact: eat@charcoallane.com.au or (03) 9418 3400 between 9am and 5pm weekdays.

Event details:
What:  Taste of Reconciliation: Bridge Lunch
When:  1pm to 4pm on Sunday 6 March 2011
Where:  First course to be served at Red Stairs in Queensbridge Square, Southbank, before moving to Sandridge Bridge.
Why:  To celebrate reconciliation in a unique dining experience, as part of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival.

Interview and photo opportunities:
Craig Hicks – Head Chef at Charcoal Lane
Paul Bird – Mission Australia’s State Director for Victoria
Charcoal Lane trainees

Media contacts:
Emily Lehmann, Fenton Communications on (03) 9600 0006 / 0421 852 501 or emilyl@fenton.com.au
Rachael Nightingale, Fenton Communications on (03) 9600 0006 / 0449881980 or rachael@fenton.com.au

Hope through hospitality

More Melburnians are finding out about the innovative work being carried out at Mission Australia’s Charcoal Lane thanks to features running in six Fairfax community newspapers.

Trainee Marley Kennedy and Head Chef Craig Hicks were interviewed by Mary-Jane Daffy and photographed by Teagan Glenane for a feature on the how hospitality can be used to tackle disadvantage.

Marley, 25, who is nearing the end of her traineeship at Charcoal Lane, talked about the positive impact the restaurant has had on her life:

"I wanted to connect with the Indigenous side of it all, to be able to pass on my knowledge about our culture and food to others," she said. "I feel like I'm embracing a positive outlook. I have cousins up in Albury who look at me and see that if I can do it, they can do it.”

She has since been approached to work at a resort in Uluru: "I feel like I'm getting into a new period in my life, and seeing things I never ordinarily would have."

Interviewed just 10 days into his new role at Charcoal Lane, Craig Hicks said he aimed to deliver the very best training to his students.

"We are setting up training sessions where they (the students) get sent out to a bakery, a butchery, a piggery and learn all the different skills," he said.

You can read the whole article on The Northern Weekly site

Taste of Reconciliation

If you’re in Melbourne on Sunday 6 March why not sample the unique native flavours of Charcoal Lane at the Taste of Reconciliation Bridge Lunch. Running for three hours from 1pm, this unforgettable outdoor dining experience on Melbourne's Sandridge Bridge celebrates the joining of Indigenous and non-Indigenous cultures.

Tickets are $120 per person for a four-course lunch with matched wines. There are only 300 places available for this unique event, so book early to avoid disappointment!

To learn more about this Melbourne Food and Wine Festival event, visit tasteofreconciliation.org

Visit Mission Australia's Aboriginal & Torres Strait Island resources page for our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), the latest indigenous news, current affairs and policy updates.