Broome Guide: Richard Dinnen

Richard Dinnen has been in Broome only six months. He’s no stranger to the tropics, having lived for the past 13 years in Cairns and before that in Papua New Guinea. And the native Sydneysider, who is station manager and breakfast presenter for ABC Kimberley, has already found a lot to like.

There’s the town’s diversity and its inhabitants’ “really unique way of being and of seeing the world” — not to mention the proximity to the rest of the Kimberley.

But it’s a celebration of a favourite fruit that has made a particular impression.

“I’ve had, having coming from far-north Queensland, a long relationship with mangoes,” Richard explains. “So to come to a town that actually has a mango festival, I thought ‘Wow, that’s my kind of town’.”

Richard was asked to emcee the cooking competition at last year’s Broome Mango Festival and was impressed by the way the chefs rose to the challenge.

“Some of the food was just, oh my God, it was amazing. And to see a town celebrating something that’s clearly a big part of its identity — if you had to say what grows over here, the first answer that springs to most people’s minds is mangoes.”

The mango tree in Richard’s garden has already provided ample ingredients for culinary experimentation. So far, he’s had success with mangoes in curry and in a salsa with fish, although an attempt at mango chutney was “abysmal”.

But there’s plenty of time to get it right. “I’m going to have another go next year, having first sought expert advice,” he says.

The Broome Mango Festival is on in late November. facebook.com/BroomeMango Festival.