There wasn’t a Vegemite sandwich or a Bloomin’ Onion anywhere in sight, but some other Down Under specialties were on Halifax menus on Sunday, which was Australia Day as well as a day of charity.
Good Robot and Hopyard both held events to raise money for those affected by the Australian bushfires, both man and beast.
Jordanna Caine, a native of Australia and a regular at Good Robot, hosted an Australian beach party there.
“Good Robot jumped on board when I made the suggestion, and they’re giving a dollar from every Good Robot beer sold all day,” Caine said. “Plus, I’m doing an Aussie bake sale with all kinds of specifically Australian desserts, and I’m doing a meat raffle, which is a really popular old school Aussie pub fundraiser. To be more inclusive, there will be two draws. One is meats like smoked pork chops and sausages, and the other is vegan meats.”
Two of the more popular items in the bake sale were pavlova, a meringue with whipped cream and fruit, and something called cherry ripe slice.
“Cherry Ripe is a very popular chocolate bar in Australia and Australians are mad about slices,” said Caine, with AC/DC playing in the background. “We’d say squares in Canada, we call it a slice in Australia.”
Even though Good Robot is for the craft beer crowd, for this occasion a few bottles of Foster’s were for sale, and the kitchen joined in by creating a few Aussie menu items.
“One is very simple but it’s something you’d find on any pub menu, thick potato wedges but very specifically with sour cream dipping sauce and sweet chili dipping sauce, so you use both of them,” Caine said.
“We’re doing a sausage sizzle, which is another very popular fundraising food item that normally is done outside the hardware stores and so on. Basically, it’s a slice of white bread with a sausage – not a frankfurter but a grilled sausage – and grilled onions and ketchup, or tomato sauce as we would say. It can’t be in a bun, very basic and very Australian. Fabulous with beer. The final item is an Aussie works burger. If you order a works burger in Australia it’ll come with the patty, lettuce and tomato and you’ll always have grilled onions, sliced pickled beetroot just out of the tin, and a fried egg.”
"It’s hard being so far away and seeing the devastation and feeling so helpless."
- Australian ex-pat Jordanna Caine
Half the money raised was being earmarked for the Red Cross disaster relief fund and the other half will go to the WIRES Australian Wildlife Rescue Organization.
“It’s hard being so far away and seeing the devastation and feeling so helpless. This is an opportunity to feel like you’re doing something to help,” said Caine. “I’m meeting lots of Australians today that I didn’t even know were here. Some of them have been here a long time, some have just arrived in the last few months. It’s not a large population.”
A few blocks away, Mike Ross, owner of Hopyard, said his interest in Australian relief was sparked by the fact he has a regular from there.
“Last year we did an Australia Day event with some Australian menu items, that kind of stuff, just for him and his friends,” Ross said. “Obviously this year it’s taken on a new meaning.”
Hopyard chef Kyler Saunders consulted their customers on what he should prepare.
“I told him to give me some ideas because I don’t know too much about Australian food,” the chef said. “He suggested fairy bread, which is literally just toast, butter and sprinkles. I said ‘What’s something else we can do?’ ”
They settled on Lamington cake, a sponge cake with strawberry jam in the middle, covered in chocolate and icing sugar with a Tim Tam, a chocolate biscuit, on the side, and a bonza burger, bonza meaning first-rate or excellent.
“It’s a five-ounce patty topped with beetroot aioli, grilled pineapple, a sunny side up egg and other fixings,” Saunders said. “All the proceeds from the sale of those menu items will be donated to the Wildlife Warriors foundation.”
