Mark "The Black" Olive is Australia's most acclaimed Aboriginal chef. For the past 20 years, Mark, a proud Bundjalong man, has had a passion for bringing the vibrant colours and earthy tastes of ancient outback flavours and food to dining tables across Australia and throughout the world.
Mark’s love of food stemmed from spending long hours as a child watching his mother and aunties prepare food in Wollongong, NSW, often using traditional ingredients such as wattle seed or lemon myrtle. From this initial love, Mark went on to train under Italian chef Rino Collechia. Upon completing his apprenticeship, he went on to cook for a diverse range of restaurants and kitchens.
In 1993, Mark decided to have a break from cooking to follow his other love of film and television and started studying at the Australian Film Television and Radio School. This new love eventually led to a move to Melbourne in 1998 to attend an Indigenous theatre course at Swinburne University and then onto the Victorian College of the Arts where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Film and Television.
Shortly afterwards, Mark started appearing on the ABC TV series “Message Stick” as the resident chef. However, Mark wanted to take his love of cooking and television one step further – out to the bush of Australia to visit Aboriginal communities throughout the country, showcasing the native food of the area. Thus, the concept of a travel show combining tourism with food was created and The Outback Café was produced by the Lifestyle Channel on AUSTAR.
Mark is in the process of planning his own restaurant in Melbourne, which will also act as a training centre for young Indigenous people to enter into the hospitality industry in a culturally-appropriate way.
This year, with fellow Aboriginal business partner, Mikael Smith, Mark started his own company Black Olive Productions, which includes a catering arm specialising in contemporary, gourmet Indigenous cuisine.
