Midden by Mark Olive

Wattle seed, mountain pepperberry, strawberry gum, saltbush. Celebrated indigenous chef and Bundjalung man Mark Olive has spent more than four decades educating Australians about native ingredients and what he describes as our national cuisine.

His forthcoming restaurant, Midden by Mark Olive, will continue that mission in the western foyers of the Sydney Opera House, when it opens in early July in partnership with Doltone House Hospitality Group. The venue’s name is inspired by the traditional meeting places of the Gadigal people, marked by mounds of discarded shells scattered throughout Bennelong Point and Sydney Harbour.

Open for lunch, dinner and matinee high teas, Midden will champion native Australian ingredients in a casual all-day setting. Olive has also partnered with the National Indigenous Culinary Institute to provide career opportunities and mentorship for young Indigenous cheffing talent.

Opening menu highlights include native thyme hummus with toasted Tasmanian mountain pepper flatbread and roasted macadamia nuts; quandong-glazed chicken breast with warrigal greens and roasted pine nuts; and a signature bush pavlova with native fruit coulis and roasted wattleseed cream.

Olive is best known for his SBS series, The Outback Cafe, which was instrumental in exposing native Australian ingredients to an international audience. He’s also appeared as a guest judge on Masterchef, and is a regular on The Cook Up with Adam Liaw.

Midden will open at the western broadwalk beneath the Sydney Opera House on Wednesday, July 4.