Central Australia is heavily reliant on fresh produce transported up from Adelaide via the Stuart Highway or Ghan Railway. A small amount of fruit and vegetables come from the north but not much. When there’s been a major road closure, supermarket shelves can be empty in a matter of hours. When this happened in 2022 with the closure of the Stuart Highway following a major traffic accident, you couldn’t get a single onion anywhere in Alice Springs by that evening. A small local produce market ran out of the community garden for a few years, but it’s not happening anymore. Market gardens have come and gone, and it seems incredibly hard to sustain a business growing produce here. Those who are committed to reducing their food miles and eating locally have to become home innovative cooks, determined gardeners and barterers. Laurie May is an Mparntwe based poet and media manager. She is also a great cook and gardener. In this episode we visit Laurie in her beautiful kitchen and garden and find out what it takes to eat local only in Alice Springs.

Central Australia is heavily reliant on fresh produce transported up from Adelaide via the Stuart Highway or Ghan Railway. A small amount of fruit and vegetables come from the north but not much. When there’s been a major road closure, supermarket shelves can be empty in a matter of hours. When this happened in 2022 with the closure of the Stuart Highway following a major traffic accident, you couldn’t get a single onion anywhere in Alice Springs by that evening. A small local produce market ran out of the community garden for a few years, but it’s not happening anymore. Market gardens have come and gone, and it seems incredibly hard to sustain a business growing produce here. Those who are committed to reducing their food miles and eating locally have to become home innovative cooks, determined gardeners and barterers. Laurie May is an Mparntwe based poet and media manager. She is also a great cook and gardener. In this episode we visit Laurie in her beautiful kitchen and garden and find out what it takes to eat local only in Alice Springs.

‘Great Cooks of the Desert’ is a five part radio and podcast series that explores the lives of five exemplary home cooks who call the desert home.

The series looks at the challenges and joys of contemporary life in the desert, from the impact of imported grasses on traditional hunting grounds to the risky reliance on transport networks in supplying fresh produce. It also looks at the everyday reality of living thousands of kilometres from family, friends and the nearest capital city–and in a place of extreme contradictions.

Produced by Rita Cattoni, host of Kitchen Radio on 8CCC 102.1FM. The series was supported by the Community Broadcasting Foundation

‘Great Cooks of the Desert’ is a five part radio and podcast series that explores the lives of five exemplary home cooks who call the desert home.
The series looks at the challenges and joys of contemporary life in the desert, from the impact of imported grasses on traditional hunting grounds to the risky reliance on transport networks in supplying fresh produce. It also looks at the everyday reality of living thousands of kilometres from family, friends and the nearest capital city–and in a place of extreme contradictions.
Produced by Rita Cattoni, host of Kitchen Radio on 8CCC 102.1FM. The series was supported by the Community Broadcasting Foundation

Great Cooks of the Desert

‘Great Cooks of the Desert’ is a five part radio and podcastseries that explores the lives of five exemplaryhome cooks who call the desert home. The series looks at the challenges and joys of contemporary life inthe desert, from the impact of imported grasses on traditional hunting grounds to the risky reliance ontransport networks in supplying fresh produce. It also looks at the everyday reality of living thousands ofkilometres from family, friends and the nearest capital city–and in a place of extreme contradictions.

‘Great Cooks of the Desert’ is a five part radio and podcastseries that explores the lives of five exemplaryhome cooks who call the desert home. The series looks at the challenges and joys of contemporary life inthe desert, from the impact of imported grasses on traditional hunting grounds to the risky reliance ontransport networks in supplying fresh produce. It also looks at the everyday reality of living thousands ofkilometres from family, friends and the nearest capital city–and in a place of extreme contradictions.