Ernie Kim

There are times in life when you pick up a book to read a page or two, but then you finish reading the entire thing by the end of the day. ‘Due North’ by James Viles is that kind of book. ‘Due North’ in many ways is a love letter to Australia, much in the way Dorothea Mackellar’s words of “rugged mountains ranges and jewel seas” describe this ancient country. Viles’ journey from Tasmania to the very north of Australia details a land that is fickle with Mother Nature. On the one hand a dry and deserted terrain where every petrol station is viewed as a tropical paradise, and every bump and hole encountered could signal a flat tyre or worse, a Tiger snake. But the book also details an environment that is bountiful with remarkable produce, from abalone to samphire, to wallaby tail and the finest Tasmanian butter. Moreover, Viles’ journal is a generous memoir of the farmers, producers, indigenous elders, and artisans whose stories may never have been told but are in fact an integral part of Australia’s identity. The book also chronicles the work of Adam Gibson, one of Australia’s leading landscape photographers. Gibson’s photography in ‘Due North’ showcases this country in a way that most galleries in Australia could only dream about. His work captures smiling faces of hardworking Australians, the beautiful and yet hostile landscape of Australia, and the incredible culinary skills of Viles who proudly cooks off the land. While Viles’ diary entries are sometimes short (with the occasional f-bomb dropped and a reoccurring theme of “frothies”), his words narrate the journey of a chef who has connected intimately with Australia’s topography, respecting every piece of green that is pulled from the earth, and even the process of taking an animal’s life for food. Nothing is understated, and everything is brutally honest. While it is heartbreaking to know that Viles’ acclaimed restaurant Biota Dining in Bowral has closed recently due to the severe bushfires and impact of COVID-19, perhaps ‘Due North’ can serve as a silver lining and reminder for Australians to explore more of what this country has to offer, and by doing so, support the chefs and suppliers who work so damn hard every day to realise all that makes Australia a lucky country.