Ever wondered what it would be like to eat a cane toad? How about a camel, or a cat? Eat the Invaders, a new six-part series coming to the ABC in January, puts some of Australia’s most problematic species on the plate.
Hosted by Tony Armstrong, the documentary-style show explores the environmental impact of introduced species through the eyes of historians, biologists, hunters, chefs and Indigenous custodians.
Armstrong is joined by Museum of Old and New Art (Mona)’s Kirsha Kaechele and Mona’s executive chef Vince Trim, who introduce us to those who were responsible for bringing these species here in the first place (spoiler alert: it’s white British guys), unravelling “the cause of all of this mess”, while challenging preconceptions of what sustainable eating looks like.
“The point of the show isn’t getting people to eat cane toads,” Armstrong tells Broadsheet. “It’s getting to people think about their food, and where it’s coming from, and the impact that it’s having.”
The proud Gamilaroi man, a self-confessed “eat anything” kinda guy, embraces the show’s polarising subject matter, becoming an “honorary toad buster” with Women Against Cane Toads (WACT) in the Queensland town of Boonah and stalking feral cats deep in the Gibson Desert with the Kiwirrkurra rangers.
Armstrong says he found a deep connection with the Kiwirrkurra traditional owners, who have hunted the wild felines for generations to protect the area’s threatened bilby population. “Eating [feral cats] the way we did, understanding culturally what it meant, that was beautiful to me.” In the desert, no protein is wasted.
While decidedly not a cooking show (don’t try this at home, kids), each episode culminates in a flamboyant “art feast” at Mona. Armstrong rises to the occasion by dressing in a sensational gold suit hand-embroidered with cartoon invaders, designed by Melbourne label Reigner. He joins Trim and Kaechele as they serve a (literally) feral degustation to high-profile guests ranging from Masterchef host Poh Ling Yeow to Queensland MP Bob Katter.
The series was inspired by Kaechele’s 2019 exhibition and 544-page glossy cookbook, both titled Eat the Problem, which showcased a series of invasive species “recipes”, both real and surreal. The work lives on through Mona’s wild-proteins-only rule, extending to those considered environmental pests. “We’re not anti-farming,” Trim says. “We’re just in a position to demonstrate that there is an alternative.”
Trim, whose fine-dining menus feature locally sourced fallow deer, wild boar and wakame, says that invasive species are a largely untapped resource. “If you eat meat, you’re eating animals. Invasive species aren’t the answer to everything, but having conversations about them is important.”
As Kaechele says in the series to comedians Claire Hooper and Nat’s What I Reckon, over a meal of starfish- and miso-glazed carp, river weeds and edible plastic, “The environmental imperative is to eat less meat, but there are a few loopholes, and that’s when these invasive species come in. Some species, you could, and should, eat it into eradication.”
Eat the Invaders streams on ABC from January 7.
