Nathan Lyons rose to social media prominence on TikTok last month, when videos of him preparing simple and cheap recipes for his family went viral.
Amassing a following of 113,000 people, the 35-year old father of six from Western Sydney posts under the handle 'Kooking with a Koori'.
Following popular demand, he has announced a forthcoming cookbook that will share his favourite home recipes to feed the family on a tight budget.
Mr Lyons told NITV that he shot to fame after a video of him cooking bully beef went viral on TikTok, but this took him by surprise, with his only intention being to share some recipes for modern Indigenous food.
“I started getting recipe requests for things like curried sausages and damper... I’m a man of the people, so I gave them what they wanted and then I was approached by publishers about doing a cookbook,” Mr Lyons said.
Mr Lyons told NITV News that the book will be filled with recipes from his childhood, made with ingredients which can be found in the pantries of most Aboriginal homes. It will also include some traditional Indigenous ingredients like crocodile and kangaroo mince.
'We obviously have traditional Indigenous food, but we also have modern Indigenous food like Devon, king curry, curried sausages. That’s the stuff we had growing up.'
He says his simplistic cooking style was something learned growing up in housing-commission with a single-parent, with limited funds but an abundance of creativity, and a determination to cut back on costs.
'There will be something for everyone – those strapped for cash, the vegans, Muslims who don’t eat pork. The book will include everyone,' Mr Lyons said.
While Mr Lyons' rise to social media fame has come as a surprise, he hopes his new book, inspired by childhood memories filled with food and music, will inspire the broader community to get creative in the kitchen when preparing budget-friendly meals.
'I can make dinner for $8 for [a] family of eight, which is just tuna and noodles. It’s just pantry staples and the kids absolutely love it.
'I want people to stop buying takeaway, chips, and battered sav, and get back in the kitchen and make their own good food at home so they can stop wasting money on fast food and also learn new skills,' he told NITV News.
The book is now available for and will be published via Simon and Schuster Australia later this year. Mr Lyons has encouraged fans to continue monitoring his social media pages for giveaway deals and competitions, to get their hands on a signed copy once it has been released.
