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Australia's thrill for the grill | Australia's thrill for the grill |
(about 14 hours later) | |
By Nick Bryant BBC News, Sydney | |
Scotland has the haggis, Turkey has the donor kebab, England has the Yorkshire pudding and from the land down under I give you... the overdone sausage. Australian summers provide ideal weather for barbecuing | |
I am being a tad unfair perhaps since multi-cultural Australia boasts some of the most mouth-watering food in the world. But that just makes it all the more intriguing why one of Australia's great national dishes comes partly incinerated. | I am being a tad unfair perhaps since multi-cultural Australia boasts some of the most mouth-watering food in the world. But that just makes it all the more intriguing why one of Australia's great national dishes comes partly incinerated. |
The great Australian barbecue, of course, occupies a singular place in the national psyche. | The great Australian barbecue, of course, occupies a singular place in the national psyche. |
Come the southern summer, Australians do not have water cooler conversations, they have barbecue conversations - the forum at which the most pressing national issues of the day are given a beer-fuelled airing. This year, it has been the state of Australian cricket, normally so dominant, but now so imperilled. | Come the southern summer, Australians do not have water cooler conversations, they have barbecue conversations - the forum at which the most pressing national issues of the day are given a beer-fuelled airing. This year, it has been the state of Australian cricket, normally so dominant, but now so imperilled. |
National pride | National pride |
It is also the place where Australians can speak freely in their national tongue. | It is also the place where Australians can speak freely in their national tongue. |
The country's fondness for barbecuing has been used to promote tourism The barbecue, or barbie, gives people the chance to chew upon a sausage (a "snag"), drink a few beers ("blow the froth off a couple of cold ones") which usually come in ice-cold bottles ("stubbies"), which are stored in a refrigerated ice-box (an "esky"). | The country's fondness for barbecuing has been used to promote tourism The barbecue, or barbie, gives people the chance to chew upon a sausage (a "snag"), drink a few beers ("blow the froth off a couple of cold ones") which usually come in ice-cold bottles ("stubbies"), which are stored in a refrigerated ice-box (an "esky"). |
People normally arrive wearing their flip-flops (their "thongs"), while a beachside barbie might even see a few pairs of swimming trunks ("budgie-smugglers"). | People normally arrive wearing their flip-flops (their "thongs"), while a beachside barbie might even see a few pairs of swimming trunks ("budgie-smugglers"). |
Australia's most successful ever tourism campaign lured international visitors by promising to throw another shrimp on the barbie. | Australia's most successful ever tourism campaign lured international visitors by promising to throw another shrimp on the barbie. |
And in recent weeks, Australians have been bombarded by another series of government-sponsored advertisements designed to promote Australia Day. | And in recent weeks, Australians have been bombarded by another series of government-sponsored advertisements designed to promote Australia Day. |
Even in this most egalitarian of societies there is a distinct sense of hierarchy when it comes to the barbecue Their star is an officious young bureaucrat who arrives on the door-step of a suburban bungalow to lambast its bewildered occupant for spending last year's national day on the couch. | Even in this most egalitarian of societies there is a distinct sense of hierarchy when it comes to the barbecue Their star is an officious young bureaucrat who arrives on the door-step of a suburban bungalow to lambast its bewildered occupant for spending last year's national day on the couch. |
"Not a fan of barbecues?" he asks, disapprovingly. | "Not a fan of barbecues?" he asks, disapprovingly. |
A search of the back garden uncovers a rusting barbie prompting even more official censure. | A search of the back garden uncovers a rusting barbie prompting even more official censure. |
Then there is the newspaper version of the campaign, where the bureaucrat carries the official Australia Day checklist. | Then there is the newspaper version of the campaign, where the bureaucrat carries the official Australia Day checklist. |
Its calls upon true patriots to celebrate their national day by making a disparaging remark about English cricket and overcooking a variety of meats on semi-hygienic barbecues. | Its calls upon true patriots to celebrate their national day by making a disparaging remark about English cricket and overcooking a variety of meats on semi-hygienic barbecues. |
Licensed to barbie | Licensed to barbie |
Having recently married an Australian, I now have to take my barbecuing with the utmost seriousness. | Having recently married an Australian, I now have to take my barbecuing with the utmost seriousness. |
In fact, one of my first gifts from my wife was a set of cooking utensils, knives, tongs, kebab spikes and the like, which came in the kind of the gleaming silver attache case James Bond might use to carry his Beretta. | In fact, one of my first gifts from my wife was a set of cooking utensils, knives, tongs, kebab spikes and the like, which came in the kind of the gleaming silver attache case James Bond might use to carry his Beretta. |
I am now licensed to barbie. | I am now licensed to barbie. |
But even in this most egalitarian of societies there is a distinct sense of hierarchy when it comes to the barbecue. | But even in this most egalitarian of societies there is a distinct sense of hierarchy when it comes to the barbecue. |
You can tell a lot about an Australian man, for instance, by the size of his barbecue In my wife's family, there is a rigid pecking order in which I have been relegated to the role of hapless spectator, while more senior brother-in-laws stand proudly at the grill. | You can tell a lot about an Australian man, for instance, by the size of his barbecue In my wife's family, there is a rigid pecking order in which I have been relegated to the role of hapless spectator, while more senior brother-in-laws stand proudly at the grill. |
Topping the barbecue league is my oldest brother-in-law who can boast an expansive repertoire of barbie dishes, from a whole snapper doused in lime juice and wrapped in an envelope of aluminium foil, to barbequed bananas oozing with melted milk chocolate. | Topping the barbecue league is my oldest brother-in-law who can boast an expansive repertoire of barbie dishes, from a whole snapper doused in lime juice and wrapped in an envelope of aluminium foil, to barbequed bananas oozing with melted milk chocolate. |
So masterful are his barbecuing skills he does not even burn the sausages. | So masterful are his barbecuing skills he does not even burn the sausages. |
Gender divide | Gender divide |
The barbecue brings to the fore Australians' generosity of spirit. | The barbecue brings to the fore Australians' generosity of spirit. |
Making sure your 'snags' are cooked can take a great degree of skillI regularly serve up scorched snags that resemble one of Australia's most lucrative exports, a lump of coal. But judging by the response, you would have thought I had just produced a plate of Beluga caviar. "What a beauty," they might say. | Making sure your 'snags' are cooked can take a great degree of skillI regularly serve up scorched snags that resemble one of Australia's most lucrative exports, a lump of coal. But judging by the response, you would have thought I had just produced a plate of Beluga caviar. "What a beauty," they might say. |
There are other national traits which we can mine from the veneration of the barbie. | There are other national traits which we can mine from the veneration of the barbie. |
The love of the outdoors. The fondness for humour, often lubricated with one of the aforementioned stubbies, or anything else that has alcoholic content and arrives chilled. | The love of the outdoors. The fondness for humour, often lubricated with one of the aforementioned stubbies, or anything else that has alcoholic content and arrives chilled. |
I have only ever spotted one woman slaving over a hot-barbecue, and she turned out to be French Humour quickly evolves into the kind of slap-the-back bonhomie that the Australians call mateship. | I have only ever spotted one woman slaving over a hot-barbecue, and she turned out to be French Humour quickly evolves into the kind of slap-the-back bonhomie that the Australians call mateship. |
Then there is the love of competition. You can tell a lot about an Australian man, for instance, by the size of his barbecue, and some are so very capacious that they resemble small mobile homes. | Then there is the love of competition. You can tell a lot about an Australian man, for instance, by the size of his barbecue, and some are so very capacious that they resemble small mobile homes. |
It is also worth pointing out that at an Australian barbecue the segregation of the sexes is complete. | It is also worth pointing out that at an Australian barbecue the segregation of the sexes is complete. |
The men burn the meat, while the women tend to the salads. Rarely is this unwritten doctrine ever breached. | The men burn the meat, while the women tend to the salads. Rarely is this unwritten doctrine ever breached. |
I have only ever spotted one woman slaving over a hot barbecue, and she turned out to be French. | I have only ever spotted one woman slaving over a hot barbecue, and she turned out to be French. |
I spotted her at the local beach last weekend, happily barbecuing alongside a Swiss man at a neighbouring grill and a group of Indians from Punjab at another. | I spotted her at the local beach last weekend, happily barbecuing alongside a Swiss man at a neighbouring grill and a group of Indians from Punjab at another. |
If you want to successfully assimilate into the mainstream of Australian life then hurl a crustacean in the direction of a flaming grill. Here, the barbecue takes the place of the multi-cultural melting pot. | If you want to successfully assimilate into the mainstream of Australian life then hurl a crustacean in the direction of a flaming grill. Here, the barbecue takes the place of the multi-cultural melting pot. |
If you have not partaken of this antipodean ritual, then I would thoroughly recommend that you do. Tell me when you are coming, and they will have an overcooked shrimp awaiting your arrival. | If you have not partaken of this antipodean ritual, then I would thoroughly recommend that you do. Tell me when you are coming, and they will have an overcooked shrimp awaiting your arrival. |
From Our Own Correspondent was broadcast on Saturday, 24 January, 2009 at 1130 GMT on BBC Radio 4. Please check the programme schedules for World Service transmission times. | From Our Own Correspondent was broadcast on Saturday, 24 January, 2009 at 1130 GMT on BBC Radio 4. Please check the programme schedules for World Service transmission times. |
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