Nornie Bero started her career by showcasing Torres Strait Islander cuisine – and the untapped potential of native ingredients – at a stall at the South Melbourne Market, with a colourfully packaged range of condiments. From there, she opened Yarraville cafe Mabu Mabu (meaning “help yourself”). In 2021, she graduated to opening Fed Square’s unique restaurant and bar, Mabu Mabu Big Esso, meaning “the biggest thank you”. And last year came the debut Mabu Mabu cookbook.
It’s been a slow build, but Bero is finally becoming a household name in Australian cooking. And now she’s hosting her first solo TV show. NITV and SBS Food series Island Echoes with Nornie Bero premiered on SBS earlier this month, and sees the chef return home to Mer Island, showing viewers where she developed her love of food and culture.
“It was an amazing experience,” says Bero. “We got to film on eight islands in the Torres Strait and really showcase how different the landscape is. There are these beautiful tropical parts of Australia that still exist, and cultures that have been around forever. We’re still maintaining the food and cultural aspects of our lives on those islands.”
Bero still has strong personal connections in the Strait, including with her father and old friends. Unsurprisingly, on her return, she was greeted with pride and enthusiasm, establishing herself as a ready role model. “I grew up walking on those same beaches and going to those same schools,” she says. “So if I can do it, they can do it. I’m one of them, but not only that – they’re one of me.”
Each episode of Island Echoes dives into the enduring culture behind the traditional dishes Bero prepares and culinary methods she uses. She then puts her own personal stamp on the dishes, breaking down how they can be re-created at home. The average home cook doesn’t need to have access to dugong and turtle (traditional hunting options for Torres Strait Islanders) or know how to cook in an underground oven to appreciate the techniques and values that Bero is celebrating.
But at the same time, viewers can expect to find out just how joyful the practice of foraging and fishing can be. “You can’t get any better than when you’re standing there and the food comes straight out of the ocean,” says Bero. “Or you can dig it up right next to you. Whatever the land and the ocean give you, you cook something from it. It’s just the best experience ever. Being a chef, that’s such raw and exciting cooking.”
That ethos extends to the children of the islands, who know exactly where their food comes from – and also know not to take more of it than they need. “They’re part of the process of getting food,” says Bero. “It’s a part of their lives. They eat everything and try everything. They understand the circle of life.”
Bero is on a mission to show that there is more to native ingredients than just lemon myrtle and wattleseeds. Her cookbook includes pointers on how to source native produce that can’t always be found locally, depending on where the reader lives. She has a second cookbook in the works, focusing on quick and easy dishes, showing how to replace familiar ingredients with native ones.
“My mission is to get native ingredients into everyday pantries,” says Bero. “These ingredients actually come out of our land, and they’re a part of who we are. We should be proud to have our own spices and ingredients that are unique to us.”
Anyone who dines at Mabu Mabu Big Esso will find Bero’s native-first approach applied not just to the dishes, but also the restaurant’s soft drinks and cocktails made entirely from Australian ingredients – including the spirits themselves. Also on offer are Mabu Mabu’s take-home spins on mint tea, black tea, chai and hot chocolate. The restaurant even sells its own jams, hot sauces, damper kits and versatile spices ranging from salt bush to pepperberry.
And the food menu spans kangaroo and emu, as well as wild boar, oysters, mussels and duck, plus a wide gamut of fruit and veg. It all goes back to Mabu Mabu’s commitment to the rich variety of produce sourced from Australia’s diverse climates and landscapes. To that end, the menu is tweaked about once a month to accommodate the relatively short seasons for much Australian produce.
“When you think about the seasons that we talk about here, they were introduced to Australia,” says Bero. “They don’t really go with how all the parts of Australia are different. You should be eating in that [specific] season and enjoying it.”
Alongside the second cookbook, Bero isn’t exactly sure what’s next for the Mabu Mabu brand. But you can count on one thing: she’s just getting started. “We want to make native ingredients more accessible to people,” she says. “I think there’s a lot more to be done.”
This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with SBS On Demand.
