Foodscapes

This is the starter course of an insect-themed tasting menu that has been carefully crafted with the guidance of Skye Blackburn, an entomologist and founder of Circle Harvest, a world leader in edible insect farming techniques and Australia’s first and largest insect protein farm. ‘Tonight is a very special occasion,’ Blackburn says. ‘Elsewhere, there are restaurants that might serve a couple of insect dishes, but this is the first time in Australia where we’re doing a full restaurant takeover, with an all-edible-insect menu.’

Circle Harvest also makes what Blackburn humorously calls ‘gateway bugs’ — insect-filled lollipops and cricket corn chips with BBQ flavouring — but the goal this evening is to further her mission to nudge insect proteins from the novelty fringes right into the culinary mainstream. ‘The chefs at Misc. understood the assignment right away when we were developing the menu,’ Blackburn says. ‘We’re not using the insects for the shock factor but presenting them in lovely dishes, showcasing their flavour and texture.’ Misc. owner (and Gogglebox TV show favourite) Jad Nehmetallah describes the collaboration with Blackburn as a ‘journey of creativity and innovation’ and the insect tasting menu as a ‘testament to the ability of our chefs to push the boundaries while staying true to who we are’. Next up, there’s cacio e pepe with roasted mealworms, a mid-course of passionfruit and ant sorbet, and mains of chicken involtini with miso butter and crickets (accompanied by sides of charred broccolini drizzled with hazelnut and ant vinaigrette, and chips dusted with cricket ‘crack salt’). And for dessert: a pavlova with strawberry compote, garnished with tyrant ants (native to Australia). They’re named for their bullying behaviour, which might reduce any guilt about eating them with relish. The farmed-in-captivity ants have a surprising citrus-sweet zing and the satisfying texture of poppy seeds. ‘This dessert was my daughter’s favourite when we did the menu tasting at Misc. back in June,’ Blackburn says. ‘Since then, almost every day, she’s been asking to have it again!’

This is the fourth event of 12 in a year-long Powerhouse Food: Producers program, curated by Powerhouse Vitocco Kitchen Program Manager Xinyi Lim. It’s a ground-breaking initiative to showcase local food production throughout Greater Western Sydney. This is a region that’s already well-known for its urban growth and development, yet it also has diverse natural environments and food growing and production ecosystems. Within its boundaries are established Hawkesbury-Nepean River fisheries; market gardeners in the south-west — close to where the new Aerotropolis will be — who grow produce for Sydney Markets; honey and truffle farmers in the World Heritage-listed Blue Mountains; and alternative protein manufacturers in Wetherill Park and Penrith.

So far, the Powerhouse Food: Producers events have included a tour of Australia’s first commercial micro herb grower, Gourmet Herbs, where Jane Vassallo’s female-led team produces more than 20 varieties of micro herbs; an orchard visit and cider tasting hosted by Nathan Silm, a fourth-generation family farmer at Cedar Creek Orchard; and a farm tour and workshop at Rita’s Farm, where Rita Kelman has grown organic vegetables for more than two decades — and educated other local growers in organic methods.

‘As a food curator, I care deeply about platforming untold and under-represented stories of the food industry,’ Lim says. ‘I want to show where food comes from, and how much hard work, energy and creativity goes into making the food we eat and getting it onto our plates. Tonight’s insect-themed fine dining event is a watershed moment for our program, as it’s the first time Powerhouse is doing this kind of large dinner event through a restaurant collaboration.’ At the long communal Misc. dining tables each new course of the menu inspires conversation and the sharing of personal tasting notes among the guests, who include food technology teachers, chefs, families celebrating milestone birthdays, groups of foodie friends, dieticians who founded an insect protein consultancy, and community members who are interested to learn more about alternative proteins — or are already converts. ‘I’m just here because I like eating bugs,’ one guest declares. ‘It’s the texture I love. The crunch.’

After trying the passionfruit and ant sorbet, a food technology lecturer who encourages her students to experiment with insect proteins in their assignments decides she will mix things up next term. ‘I’ve been getting them to start off using cricket protein powders, thinking they wouldn’t be able to handle seeing the bugs themselves,’ she says. ‘But these tiny black ants sprinkled on the yellow sorbet are so visually interesting, and the flavour they add is fantastic.’ For an education unit where her students have to identify a food sustainability challenge and how to meet it, she decides she will propose a new idea: birthday cakes made with cricket flour and ants sprinkled on top. When Blackburn stops by the table to chat, the lecturer asks her whether crickets have pain receptors. ‘No – so they can’t feel pain,’ Blackburn says. ‘But we still treat them as if they can. We freeze them to euthanise them painlessly.’

‘There’s a substantial education element to the Powerhouse: Food Producers program,‘ Lim says. ‘At the micro herbs event, a teacher from the Hawkesbury Centre of Excellence in Agricultural Education brought along several students, and many other food educators have signed up to attend the entire series.’ Lim is a chef, food curator and former lawyer who has always believed that social justice initiatives can and should be embedded in all kinds of food programming. She has previously delivered charity grassroots initiatives like Family Meal to demonstrate how community-building and awareness-raising can be nourishing twin elements of any food event.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, she was unexpectedly stranded back home in Sydney on a brief visit from New York for her sister’s wedding (later postponed due to lockdown). She began to share her sourdough starter culture with other Australians — sending it in dried form via the mail to more than 700 people — and asking in return for a photograph of their first loaf, which people were as ‘proud of as a newborn baby,’ no matter how misshapen or lumpy the loaves had turned out. It was beautiful proof of Lim’s philosophy — also evident in her food art project Megafauna — that making and sharing food brings humans together in meaningful ways, even when physical proximity is not an option.

While Powerhouse Parramatta is still being constructed — it is due to open in 2026 — Lim is building a close-knit network among Greater Western Sydney food producers and designing food programming that invites local communities to learn more about the food being produced right on their regional doorstep. This will lead directly into the programming of the Vitocco Family Kitchen, a large-scale demonstration kitchen that will be at the heart of the new building, bringing together industry and community alongside leading chefs and food producers. Arnold and Irene Vitocco’s charitable investment into Powerhouse Parramatta is supporting a platform for education and community programs about agricultural science and food science, while celebrating the important legacy of cultural migrants to Western Sydney especially with regards to agriculture, manufacturing and food production.

Beloved Sydney chef and culinary icon Kylie Kwong — previously founder of restaurants Billy Kwong and Lucky Kwong, and now a Powerhouse Associate — is also developing unique Western Sydney community food programs to deliver on this vision (Kwong used to donate her restaurant food waste to Blackburn to use as insect feed, and then buy back the cricket protein to incorporate into her own dishes). Powerhouse Chief Executive Lisa Havilah has always believed in the value of food programming as a means of strengthening an institution’s ties and partnerships within the communities it is based, as she previously did as Director of Carriageworks (from 2012–2018), the multi-arts cultural precinct in Redfern, where she initiated a food program and popular weekly food markets. The connection is personal, too: Havilah was raised on a cattle farm near Berry on the NSW South Coast and her father was a research agronomist with the NSW Department of Agriculture. She understands first-hand the importance of connecting Western Sydney communities to local food-producing landscapes — and telling new stories about sustainability, resilience and innovation within the food system.

Many of the Powerhouse Food: Producers events showcase producers who are using creative methods to test and expand the boundaries of the existing food system to make it more sustainable, exactly as Blackburn is doing through Circle Harvest. She makes hyper-local interventions to contribute to making a global difference. ‘We farmed the insects especially for tonight’s event to make sure they are the best, healthiest insects for everyone to enjoy,’ Blackburn says. ‘The crickets were fed a low-allergen diet — no soy or gluten — and in the last stage of their life cycle we fed them some fruit to give them a sweeter end note.’ The insect farm and processing factory is all under one roof in Wetherill Park. Circle Harvest sources food waste, like the ‘ugly fruit and veg that have sat on the supermarket shelf too long,’ and converts it into feed for the insects. No water is needed. ‘At the farm the insects are so noisy we have to wear hearing protection. It’s like an orchestra of crickets. But that’s a good thing: if they’re chirping, they’re happy and healthy.’ When they’re the right size, the insects are harvested and used to make nutrient-dense protein powders, oils, pastes and mylks that go into various products, including pasta and cereal. ‘People are often surprised when I say we’re producing food in Western Sydney,’ Skye says. ‘It’s fantastic this Powerhouse series is highlighting food production right here, where products are being grown and made without a whole lot of food miles attached to them.’

The Powerhouse Food: Producers program builds community spirit and food sustainability awareness, and also establishes a valuable network among the food producers themselves, with Powerhouse Parramatta as a ‘connecting node in the wider landscape,’ Lim says. Throughout 2025, the program will deliver intimate, behind-the-scenes community encounters with Greater Western Sydney dairy farmers, truffle farmers, artisanal small-batch food entrepreneurs and high-tech alternative protein manufacturers — including a tour of Harvest B, which makes plant-based proteins (and high-protein meats) in its facility at Penrith. Kristi Riordan, Harvest B co-founder, is passionate about reducing the carbon footprint of traditional food systems by developing a new range of non-GMO, high-protein alternatives. ‘Powerhouse is playing an important role in facilitating regional networks among food producers and sustainable food communities in Greater Western Sydney,’ Riordan says. ‘Programs like this bring together like-minded innovators and help us share knowledge, challenges and opportunities. For Harvest B, it’s an invaluable platform to engage with peers and build relationships that can strengthen the entire region’s approach to sustainable food.’