Possum has appeared on the menu at one of Sydney's most highly regarded restaurants for the first time in the wake of a huge surge of interest in Australia's native produce.
Better known as a cute furry animal with a long nose which runs around gardens, the possum is being served up as potted possum at the elegant Bennelong restaurant next to Sydney's Opera House.
Chef Janni Kyritsis says: 'I had to overcome the idea of using an animal people think of as a pet. But it is not an endangered species and as long as it comes from Australia I think we should try it. I am serving it with some sourdough bread and pickled pear.' The transformation of the possum into high class cuisine comes amid a growing appetite for Australia's native animals which has already seen kangaroo and emu become regular items on the menus of a growing number of restaurants.
Andrew Fielke, whose Red Ochre Grill in South Australia regularly features char-grilled emu and pan-fried wallaby fillets, says: 'There is no doubt that interest in native Australian produce is growing and that more people are wanting it.
'There is a growing degree of acceptance, although the cuter and cuddlier the animal, the more resistance that there is to it being on a plate.
'Modern Australian cuisine is an evolving and dynamic thing, and is very exciting. It has huge potential.' At Darling Mills restaurant in Sydney, which began serving barbecued rare kangaroo with baby pickled beetroot more than a year ago, chef Carlos Repetto says: 'At first people were saying, how could you put Skippy on the menu? 'But more and more people are keen to try it and I think it is here to stay, especially as chefs become more creative in the ways they serve it.'