Sustainability is at the forefront for chef Jo Barrett when it comes to cooking. It is with this mindset that the idea of utilising wild game came into play, in the approachable form of the Aussie pie.

The environmentalist philosophy Jo Barrett follows has only grown stronger throughout her career as she travelled the world and worked alongside other chefs who shared her mission. Jo said that her eco-friendly mentality was developed in her younger years.

“I don’t come from a foodie family, but in my younger days, we did have a veggie garden. I think it was in quite formative years that were impactful, because we didn’t have that the whole time,” Jo said.

“I think questioning, you know, in Australia, how lucky we are. I’m a really outdoorsy person, so seeing the impact on the environment from food had a real impact on me.”

Her childhood family garden ignited a strong curiosity involving the relationship between food and her surroundings. She continued to explore this concept as she entered her first chef apprenticeship in high school. After graduating, Jo began working at a restaurant in Melbourne called De Lacy.

After a year working, Jo had the chance to travel the world when she won a TAFE scholarship.  This would be the beginning of her international cooking journey.

“I travelled to Canada and studied in Calgary. It was pretty awesome there; kind of doing really traditional French cuisine like that. You know, a lot of technique driven cooking at school. I felt like they took it little bit more seriously than they did in Australia,” Jo said.

From Canada, she travelled and worked in Brazil and New Zealand. Eventually, Jo resettled in Melbourne working for the restaurant, MoVida. After focusing her efforts on savoury dishes, Jo dived into the world of desserts.

Discovering baking

The Wildpie team

“MoVida were opening a bakery, and they moved me across there, which was really lucky. And that’s where I met Michael James and started my baking life,” Jo said.

Michael James was the owner of the bakery at the time, who had extensive baking experience and has now published various baking cookbooks. It was during Jo’s work at MoVida she developed a strong desire to improve her baking skills and so, returned to study and master pastry at Gordon TAFE.

“It was then things really started to take shape, my belief around cooking and sustainable food systems,” Jo said.

“It was through working with flour that I could see the variables about how it was grown, stored, and transported. And working with Michael, who was very produce driven, gave me insight.”

Her continued curiosity around food ended up leading her to chef Matt Stone. Together they explored the world of sustainable food in projects like The Greenhouse for the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival.

“Then I worked for Shaun Quade [pastry chef] for a little bit doing more fiduciary work. And then decided to jump across and work with Matt at a restaurant called Brothl, which was using waste from other restaurants,” Jo said.

It was with her peers Jo learned more about the role of a chef and baker in the kitchen, along with new techniques.

“You can’t just use the same technique. Otherwise, you’re kind of stuck with the same flavour profile with the same textures. So, by introducing some historic techniques of fermenting or preserving or drying, that’s really interesting,” Jo said.

Jo believes technique and knowing how to cook is a vital component to embracing the sustainable food lifestyle. She noted the importance of cooking within the seasons, and sourcing ingredients locally. Reducing food wastage is a key mission in Jo’s career as she explained that if the proper skills are learned such as using every part of an animal rather than the traditional cuts, wastage is drastically brought down.

“Food waste is a huge thing, but if you could learn how to cook different things, then not only do you capture abundance, reduce packaging, and reduce food waste, it’s also really creative and interesting for consumers,” Jo said.

Wildpie: a new venture

A Wildpie creation in the making

This goal, as well as addressing the issue of invasive species in Australia, led Jo to create the Wildpie. Prior to working at the MoVida Bakery, Jo was a stranger to the baking world. Growing up she would watch her grandmother bake, cooking with her, but never approached the recipes herself. After gaining skills in her study and work experience, game pie seemed like the right fit for Jo’s sustainable mission.

“I guess it’s an iconic Australian thing, iconic in New Zealand as well. And I think with invasive species and Australian game, it can be typically a little bit leaner,” Jo said.

“So, trying to look for techniques that would truly represent a lean meat in a really great way, and also be an introduction to people who may not have tried it before in a really approachable way. And you know, buttery pastry is a great way to introduce that.”

Game is considered as any kind of meat that has grown up in the wild and been hunted for food—rather than raised on a farm as a food source. These are often also categorised as invasive species, a group of animals that continues to impact the environment and cultural sites. Culling programs are in place, and yet the protein is often discarded rather than utilised. Jo believes chefs can benefit from this meat as it is ethically harvested and nutrient dense with the animal’s diet consisting of natural foods from their environment.

“I see that as a really great resource. It’s probably just a lack of imagination or a little bit of laziness in terms of setting up the infrastructure to be able to harvest process and then turn it into something,” Jo said.

“We’re trying to use Wildpie as a bit of a springboard to show that you could use these, these species in the food source.”

A Wildpie

Through the development of the Wildpie, Jo encountered some unexpected obstacles. Rather than worrying about the meat source, or the actual creation of the pies, it was transport and keeping them fresh that proved to be a challenge.

“We had a lot of realisations about freezing pies, thickening pies, and then adding in, you know, different cuts of meat that are really lean and how to not make them kind of dry,” Jo said.

“I think that’s probably been one of our biggest hurdles. It’s not so much the meat requirement, but the transportation of frozen foods and making them really approachable but also affordable, that game could be a part of, you know, a weekly menu for people.”

Jo said that after eating game meat, your palette can begin to change and adapt to certain flavours.  Being open to change and adaptable to flavours can significantly help the environment, if game meat consumption is normalised. Wildpie introduces venison, boar, wallaby, and goat as potential flavour options.

“I find that the wild meats are so clean and savory and just like really delicious, that when you go back to eating, even if it’s regenerative farmed beef or lamb, they have a really intense flavour.”

Understandably, the idea of game meat can be intimidating hence the incorporation of pastry—an element that Jo swears will make or break a pie.

“The filling is kind of the perfect consistency, where it runs slightly but then not too much. But I do think, out of everything with a pie, it all has to do with the pastries,” Jo said.

Jo hopes the Wildpie will make the concept of wild game consumption more approachable. It is one of the many ways she believes consumers can contribute to a greener Australia.

“As a consumer you really can make a difference, which is quite exciting and empowering,” Jo said.

Perhaps now is the time to start embracing the wild side of food.