Cultured Ice Cream, with Wal Foster of Natural Ice Cream Australia

Welcome to Episode 21 of Quirky Cooking Chats (Season 2), with Jo Whitton: "Cultured Ice Cream, with Wal Foster of Natural ice Cream Australia"

From his iconic, blue, ice-cream van in Brunswick Heads, chef Wal Foster of Natural Ice Cream Australia creates unique, small-batch cultured ice creams that incorporate native Australian flavours like wattleseed, mountain pepper, tamarind, rosella, strawberry gum, smoked paperbark, pandanus, finger lime and aniseed myrtle.

In this episode, Jo and the Quirky Cooking team stop by to visit Wal while on an events trip, and Jo chats to Wal about the story behind Natural Ice Cream Australia. Wal shares his interest in probiotic and prebiotic foods and "food as medicine" and talks about how his focus has changed over the last few years from creating sugar-laden French classics and working long hours, to creating one-of-a-kind, gut-healthy ice creams (with indigenous ingredients that he often forages himself), while living a slower, healthier life that includes time to surf and spend time with friends.

When you stop by Natural Ice Cream Australia for a treat, expect it to also be a learning experience. Wal takes the time to share the fascinating stories behind each ice cream as he serves them, including the ingredients (which may include native fruits you've never heard of before!), where they're sourced, how the ice cream is made and why it's good for you. Wal's amazing creations always bring a lot of joy and delight to his customers, many who may have never really thought about the health of their microbiome before visiting his little blue van!

Wal generously shared a recipe for honey-sweetened, cultured ice cream with mountain pepper and roasted apricots in Jo's latest cookbook, Simple, Healing Food (quirkycooking.com.au/simplehealingfood), so it was a fun idea to have a cookbook signing and ice cream party at Wal's van in Brunswick Heads. If you have this cookbook, this recipe is a must try! And if you're ever in Wal's neighbourhood, make sure you look him up and enjoy one of his mind-blowingly delicious treats. You'll be glad you did.

Find Wal online and follow his journey:

• website: https://www.naturalicecreamaustralia.com.au/
• instagram: https://www.instagram.com/naturalicecreamaustralia/

Read more about Wal's story:

• Gourmet Traveller: https://www.gourmettraveller.com.au/news/food-and-culture/chefs-new-beginnings-19388

Visit the Quirky Cooking website for real-food recipes and cookbooks: www.quirkycooking.com.au