A Taste of Down Under: An Inside Look at 2025's Great Australian Bite

Los Angeles Times

a day ago

What is 'Australian Cuisine,' exactly? If you're to ask the average Australian, they might say, as celebrated chef Clare Falzon did during the 2025 Great Australian Bite dining event in Malibu, 'Umm … well, there's not really an answer.'
She wasn't stumped. Instead, she was making an observation about the great variety of ingredients, techniques and cultural milieu that make up the Australian dining experience. For Falzon, who cooked alongside Melbourne-to-L.A. Michelin-Star chef Curtis Stone at the event (which took place on Stone's sprawling hilltop ranch in Malibu), dining Down Under isn't one kind of thing. Rather (and similarly to the U.S.) Australia has such a wide variety of terrain, terroir and technique that one style of dining could never fit.
This was on display in Malibu on May 29, as over 350 diners arrived for a very special dinner, co-produced by Tourism Australia and the Los Angeles Times. But beyond a dining experience, this second Great Australian Bite (a play on the Great Australian Bight, the enormous open bay that comprises the continent's southwest coast) served as an open invitation to travelers who were … pardon the pun, 'hungry' for more.
Stone, who has made a huge impression on the L.A. dining scene since starting the now-closed Maude in 2014, originally hails from Melbourne and, in anticipation of the event, visited to gain inspiration about the Melbourne dining scene.
The cosmopolitan city features everything from sky-high fine dining (Vue de Monde, on the Rialto Tower's 55th floor) to an incredible contribution from immigrant populations from Southeast Asia, offering everything from street food favorites to elevated takes (Sunda or Hochi Mama, in the Central Business District). The incredible variety of dining in one city was something Stone brought to the U.S. with him, along with his own family traditions (Maude was named after his grandmother).
Now, with two L.A. eateries – sharp, charcuterie-centric Gwen and fun, savory The Pie Room – Stone is bringing Aussie variety to Angelenos citywide.
For Falzon, who is from Sydney, the path was westbound. She found herself in the Barossa Valley, South Australia's main wine-growing region, where she recently opened her first restaurant, staguni, in a former one-room schoolhouse, highlighting the region's rural environs. The restaurant, focused on the fresh produce grown in the region and playing on Falzon's Maltese heritage, gives an instantly Mediterranean vibe in ingredients but remains unapologetically Australian, with offerings like sliced beef and rockmelon appearing on the seasonal menu.
Of course, both chefs were looking to bring these influences to this year's Bite.
Guests at the Great Australian Bite were served a three-course meal at their endlessly long table situated under grand coast oaks. Among the assembled were a very 'who's who' L.A.-style list, including Phil Rosenthal of the smash Netflix show 'Somebody Feed Phil,' and wine expert and self-proclaimed 'drinker in chief,' Mike Bennie.
But their revelry didn't begin with just food. During a gorgeous golden hour with a light breeze, the assembled were offered an elevated wine and cocktail hour, featuring some of Australia's best winemakers and spirit producers.
Chief among them was the family act Chalmers Winery – husband and wife duo Kim and Tennile Chalmers were on hand to pour whites and rosés from their Victoria vineyard. Wines from across the country were featured, a Cab Franc from Brash Higgins south of Adelaide, Yalumba from the Barossa Valley and Clonakilla's famed Shiraz from the lush wine region surrounding Australia's capital, Canberra. Each wine brought a distinct mood to the setting and the meal.
Cocktails were also on the menu, all created with Down Under distillery products, including Four Pillars Gin and Starward Australian Whisky. But it was Daniel Motlop's Seven Seasons vodka that stood out, a native yam vodka made from tubers harvested on Indigenous land by native peoples in Darwin. Guests celebrated both the uniqueness of the spirit and its creation – Australia's indigenous peoples are considered among the oldest civilizations on the planet, inhabiting the continent for over 65,000 years, with their ancient preparation techniques contributing to the flavors of the nation.
From a Blackmore Australian Wagyu to a deceptively simple zucchini and summer squash dish, the menu served at the Great Australian Bite was expansive, comforting and deliciously fresh. The squash appetizer, with the titular veggies served over ricotta, had a minor kick with a chili oil topping. The second course, a rabbit terrine (inspired by an old Australian phrase, 'thank your mother for the rabbits,' said Stone), featured the aforementioned coarse forcemeat with a lightly pickled veggie side and a walnut praline.
But it was the mains, served family-style, that got the most 'oohs' and 'aahs' out of the gathered crowd. Stone's contribution, the wagyu, was impossibly rich, with its marbling and tender bite mimicking – if not surpassing – its namesake Japanese counterpart.
Falzon offered a hearty pile of roasted Magra lamb shanks, with a subtle Mediterranean spicing on their crisp skin and served with dates and pistachios. Sides included Stone's duck fat potatoes and Falzon's crisp watermelon, tomato and cactus fruit salad, an ingredient she was especially excited to use, given its duality in Maltese and Southern California cuisine.
And while diners left full and happy (the served dessert, a flaky, just-a-hint-of-citrus passionfruit tart aided in that happiness), the overall takeaway was simple: Visit Australia – not just for its incredible natural offerings, beautiful desertscapes, monumental seas and reefs and vibrant Down Under culture – but go for the food and drink, which has been quietly revolutionizing itself to become a multifaceted and complex cuisine.
Whether you're in Sydney or Melbourne, Canberra or Perth, the Barrossa Valley or Victoria's lush vineyards, an Australian 'bite' awaits. As Stone said, 'Today we showed off beautiful Australian food and wine, but there's nothing like going there. When you're in Australia and get to experience their hospitality firsthand, it's just very unique.'