While there will not be any crocodile meat on the menu, pilgrims will get a taste of Australia when they spread ‘vegemite’ on a sandwich, or try a ‘tim-tam’ with a traditional cup-of-tea at WYD08.

"We want to provide pilgrims with 'a good feed' and a little bit of an Australian taste. We have tried to do that by including some of our more iconic items such as Tim Tams, Weet-Bix crunch, vegemite, lamingtons and good old baked beans!" said Director of Pilgrim Services, Geoff Morris.

For those who haven't tried these typical treats before, Tims Tams are chocolate biscuits, Weet-bix crunch is an Australian breakfast cereal, vegemite (similar to the British 'marmite') is a salty tasting black spread which Australians typically eat on top of toast or in sandwiches; and lamingtons are mini chocolate iced cakes, dusted with coconut flakes.

Practically every international guest should have a chance to taste these typical Australian foods when in Sydney as WYD organizers have revealed the breakdown of purchased food quantities which show that 236,000 tubs of vegemite; 990,000 Tim-Tam fingers, wagon wheels and kettle chips; and 360,000 lamingtons have been ordered for the July event.

As well as showing off these classic treats to the world, the colloquially termed 'WYD Big Aussie BBQ' will take place simultaneously in over 200 locations across Sydney on Wednesday 16 July. At lunch-time on this day, WYD will host an iconic traditional barbeque for all pilgrims.

Tip Top will supply 220,000 slices of bread for the event and Top Cut will supply an equal amount of sausages to go with the bread.

Community service organization, Rotary Australia has offered its support to help host the 'WYD Big Aussie BBQ,' together with parishes and Church community groups across greater Sydney.  

"As a member of Rotary International in Australia, I'm delighted that we have almost 80 Rotary Clubs from around Sydney involved in the WYD Big Aussie BBQ," said Glenn Wran, District Governor Nominee, Rotary Australia.

 "The WYD Big Aussie BBQ is a perfect example of how Rotary in Australia can be put into action to bring some happiness to young people from all around the globe."

Australian regional businesses are already set to benefit from the event, as WYD have ordered the vast quantities of food through companies that have Australian suppliers.

There are 425,000 chocolate bars coming to Sydney from the Cadbury factory in Claremont, Tasmania; and the wheat grain that is used in weet-bix breakfast cereal is grown on home soil – 30,000 tonnes of the 40,000 tonnes that Sanitarium buy for its cereals comes from south-west NSW alone.

The nation's leading dairy manufacturer, Dairy Farmers is set to provide 100,000 litres of fresh milk.

Easyfood in Victoria will also prepare over 900,000 hot evening meals for WYD, which will be served throughout the week at major city locations including Barangaroo, Hyde Park, Domain, Darling Harbour and the Sydney Opera House Forecourt.

In total, 3.5 million meals will be served during the entire event, said Director of Pilgrim Services, Geoff Morris.

"World Youth Day will be a fantastic event, and my team has the very special challenge of planning to feed the largest mobilisation of young people in Australia's history," Director of Pilgrim Services, Geoff Morris.

To feed the multitude, approximately 25 million items of food have been ordered to serve pilgrim breakfasts in 400 accommodation venues; lunch at 250 catechesis sites, and evening meals in the central city.