The culinary qualities of '' T. stipitata '' were discovered in the mid- 1980s by horticulturist , Peter Hardwick , who gave it the name ' Dorrigo pepper ' , and Jean - Paul Bruneteau , then chef at Rowntress Restaurant , Sydney .
The culinary qualities of '' T. stipitata '' were discovered by Aboriginal Australians . 
 It gained wider recognition in the mid- 1980s thanks to horticulturist , Peter Hardwick , who gave it the name ' Dorrigo pepper ' , and Jean - Paul Bruneteau , then chef at Rowntress Restaurant , Sydney .