ANCIENT NECTAR

FERVOR FOOD X SHELTER & GATHER

A collection of pen and ink drawings of Australian plants, animals, seeds, insects and nectars by Phoebe Duff, available as limited edition prints.  These illustrations aim to highlight the beauty and variety of raw bush food ingredients that have nourished Australia's First People for thousands of generations.

It is estimated that there are up to 5,000 native food species (almost 20 per cent of Australia’s native flora and fauna) that were utilised by our First Peoples. They intricately managed and sustained the environment and its abundant foods. However, for the last 200 years, since white settlement, these ingredients have largely been ignored. Up until the 1990s, the only native Australian food product being commercially cultivated was the macadamia nut. Thankfully times are changing with professional and home chefs beginning to embrace this ancient cuisine.

Information and specimens for the collection were sourced in collaboration with chef Paul Iskov of Fervor. Fervor is a pop-up fine dining restaurant that focuses on locally foraged produce and is inspired by traditional bush foods and practices.