The Blue Ducks

Darren Roberston and Mark LaBrooy are the faces of a new, grassroots approach to cooking – delicious food based on an ethos of community, sustainability and growing-it-local. Professional chefs, mad surfers, keen gardeners and foragers, Darren and Mark live by this philosophy in everything they do – when cooking in their café, Three Blue Ducks, and in their garden, which is home to a rambling vegetable patch and four very happy chickens.

In their first book, Mark and Darren share more than 80 of their most enticing recipes, using eggs direct from their 'Chook Mahal', honey from the bees on their roof, local meat and seafood, and loads of herbs and veggies grown in the garden. Enjoy mouth-watering Sticky Pork Ribs, Barbecued Calamari, Spiced Chicken in a Brown Paper Bag, Home-Toasted Muesli, Salted Caramel Banana Muffins... and meltingly good Char-grilled Peaches with Vanilla & Rosemary Ice Cream.

This is a cookbook full of fresh ingredients and dishes bursting with flavour; a tribute to our breathtaking coastal landscape; and an inspiring reminder of the joys of connecting with the land, whether it be growing your own veggies, keeping chickens or making more ethical food choices. The Blue Ducks will have you cooking up the most delicious and seasonal delights, and looking at the food we eat in a completely new way.

About the Author

Darren Robertson moved to Australia in 2001 to work with chef Tetsuya Wakuda, becoming head chef at Sydney's internationally acclaimed Tetsuya's. Darren was co-host of the television show Love to Share, is the host of Charcoal Kitchen on Foxtel's LifeStyle Channel, and a judge on Channel 10's new series Recipe to Riches. Mark LaBrooy completed his apprenticeship at Sydney's Tetsuya's, then spent the next seven years travelling, including two years as sous-chef at Josef, a fine dining restaurant in Zurich. Today, both Darren and Mark work at Three Blue Ducks – a Sydney institution, that evokes a sense of good, honest food and of strong community spirit.