Locale Issue #1 - Frewville/Pasadena by The Adelaide Review

PASADENA/ FREWVILLE

F O O D

ISSUE#1

S T O R I E S

MARCH 2018

ADEL AIDESFINEST.COM.AU

P E O P L E

E V E N T S

2 A B O U T

U SS E / C IT NI O F O N R M A T I O N

Asian Grocer Breadbar Butcherblock Cheesebar Dairy & Frozen Flowerbar Fresh Produce Grocery

Health & Beauty Mr Nick's Kitchen Organics Salumibar Seafood Spicebar Wellbeing Online

OUR STORY

WELCOME THE VERY FIRST EDITION OF LOCALE! IF YOU ARE A REGULAR AT ONE OF ADELAIDE’S FINEST SUPERMARKETS AT FREWVILLE OR PASADENA, YOU WILL ALREADY KNOW THAT WE WANT YOUR VISIT TO BE THE MOST REWARDING EXPERIENCE POSSIBLE. We want you to feel at home here meeting friends, reading the papers, having a coffee or even a long lunch as well as picking up some quality supplies to share with your family at home.

We aim to make a visit to our store more than just a shopping trip. Communities need common spaces to come together, communicate, eat or just observe others.

We hope you enjoy finding out about where our family business began and how we want to grow with our community. ✽

Locale is designed to let you in on some of the stories behind our people, our products, our inspiration. The dictionary definition of Locale is: an area or place, especially one where something special happens.

Trading Hours ----Monday - Friday. 7am-9pm Saturday. 7am-5pm Sunday. 11am-5pm Pasadena Foodland 20 Fiveash Dr, Pasadena SA 5042 Customer Service 1300 22 33 03 Phone (08) 8374 5000 Quiet Hour Shopping ----Wednesday. 6.30pm - 8.00pm Frewville Foodland 177 Glen Osmond Road, Frewville SA 5063 Customer Service 1300 22 33 02 Phone (08) 8433 0888 Quiet Hour Shopping ----Tuesday. 6.30pm - 8.00pm

  ADEL AIDESFINESTSUPERMARKETS  MRNICKSKIT CHENCOFFEEBAR  ADEL AIDESFINEST_FLOWERBAR

PU BLISHED BY | Opinion Media, Level 8, Franklin House, 33 Franklin St Adelaide SA 5000. GPO Box 651, Adelaide SA 5001. P: (08) 7129 1060 F: (08) 8410 2822. On behalf of CRG, 177 Glen Osmond Rd, Frewville SA 5063. On the cover: Antonio Giardina

3 F E A T U R S E C / T IT OH NE

W I N G

and nuts, drinking wine with your friends and family, sleeping well and taking a siesta in the afternoon.. Family ties in Ikaria are very important and houses often contain multiple generations. Grandparents play an important role in the upbringing of their grandchildren and in the household. This helps keep older Ikarians active. Ikarian culture inspires everything we do in our business. My family history is similar to many who migrated here in the 1940s and 50s, who came with nothing and created a lifethrough hard work with an entrepreneurial, enterprising spirit. My father, Spero Senior, came to Australia from Greece, where poverty was making life very hard, in the late 1930s with a plan to settle then bring over the rest of the family .

Mr Nick Chapley

The Wing NOT MANY PEOPLE KNOW THERE’S A STORY BEHIND THE GOLD WING LOGO YOU SEE ON THE SHIRTS OF ALL OUR STAFF AT FREWVILLE AND PASADENA. THE WING REPRESENTS THE GREEK MYTH OF DAEDALUS AND ICARUS. IT WAS DESIGNED TO START A CONVERSATION, TO HELP US TALK ABOUT OUR PRINCIPLES AND HOW THEY RELATE TO OUR FAMILY HISTORY.

We worked 24/7, and with nowhere in the small town to spend our money, our wages were reinvested back into the business. We worked 18 hours, seven days a week and lived out the back. I saw an opportunity, maybe even an obligation, to provide more to that community so we added a small retail offering so people coming in to have a hamburger could buy fruit and vegetables for home, even jewellery and musical instruments. From there, a lot of hard work and long hours built the foundations of a supermarket business. In 1979, my family sold up everything and moved to South Australia.

We aspire to a healthy, fulfilling life for all so our stores sell the highest-quality natural and organic products available. We also appreciate and celebrate the fact that great food and home cooking improve the lives of everyone. Breaking bread with others, eating healthfully and eating well — these are some of the great joys in life!

So, what started as a hospitality venture, a café, became a retail business. Completing a full circle, 70 years later, our core business is retail and now we are bringing hospitality into it.

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he well-known story tells of Daedalus and his son Icarus, Athenians seeking to escape from exile on the island of Crete. Daedalus looked to the heavens as the only route open to them and crafted two pairs of wings from feathers and wax. Father and son soared into the sky but Icarus flew too close to the sun, despite his father’s warnings. The wax melted, and Icarus fell from the sky, followed by the gentle wafting feathers to be swallowed by the swelling seas.

World War II got in the way so it wasn’t until 1949 that the family eventually landed in Melbourne. Their first business venture in 1951 was a small, rundown café in country Moulamein, NSW called The Wattle Café. My father made my brother John and me business partners at a young age to teach us about responsibility, trust and autonomy.

We believe there are no limits to achieving or creating. The only rule really is…. there are no rules! Our family also takes inspiration from Ikaria, my original Greek Island home.

What this story really tells us is that the strength and endeavour of a human being has no limits… but we should be very careful how we use our strength.The wing symbol means a lot to us. It celebrates our belief that we do our best when our actions are driven by our own values.

Ikaria is one of those few Blue Zones in the world where the environment is conducive to reaching ripe old age. In Ikaria residents are several times more likely to reach the age of 90 or older compared to average life spans in other areas.

The Wing also represents our dedication to community. We see our stores as community centres where everything we do aims to have a positive and lasting effect on our wellbeing and the health of the local economy.

The secret of Ikaria is a combination of diet, social life and exercise, little or no stress, maintaining a home vegetable garden, looking out over the bright blue Aegean Sea, walking in nature, picking and eating fresh fruits, vegetables

We want you to feel at home here, spend as much or as little time as you want, connect with your community and enjoy discovering a little bit more about us each time you visit.

4 SEAFOODBAR

Chef Salvatore Pepe shares his recipe for the Gulf seafood pasta which is winning fans at Mr Nick’s at Frewville and Pasadena. Salvatore uses the marinara mix which is full of fresh SA fish, prawns and calamari and he also adds mussels. He favours an organic linguine from Italy which is made with spelt flour. “The slightly nutty flavour goes really well with the seafood,” he says.

OCEAN TO PLATE

THE CHALKBOARD SIGN SAYS IT ALL.“CLOSE YOUR EYES, PRETEND YOU ARE ON A BOAT, WE HAVE DONE THE FISHING FOR YOU”.

rewville and Pasadena’s seafood selection would impress any keen angler with dazzling displays reminiscent of European fish markets. Shiny, iridescent whole fish from tommy ruffs to jumping mullet, ocean jacket or kingfish lie on beds of crushed ice studded with fresh lemons and limes. Bright, glistening fillets of Coorong mullet, coral perch and boarfish rest alongside mountains of prawns and colourful blue swimmer crabs. Both stores have more than 30 whole fish and more than 30 crustaceans and mollusc species ranging from the well known such as salmon and flathead through to more exotic periwinkles, sea urchins or razor clams. The seafood is purchased daily from local , sustainable, often family-run fisheries with a combination farm-raised and wild-caught seafood.

Frewville and Pasadena have been selling top quality line-caught garfish from local fisherman Ashley Perkins of Port Wakefield. “The Greeks and the Italians like to buy their garfish whole, especially the older generation , but the younger ones prefer it filleted. It is a very hard fish to clean and prepare if you don’t know how,” Petros says.

“It’s easy to cook and can be shallow fried or grilled. Grilling is good to bring out its delicate, natural flavour. You can cook fillets on the hot plate of a barbecue or a whole fish on the chargrill plate.” ✽

Frewville seafood manager Petros Harpas works with a team of experienced fishmongers who carry out all the on-site filleting and oyster shucking. They’re also great at offering cooking tips.

Petros, who has worked at the store for seven years, says garfish is always a popular choice.

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Serves 4

One packet spelt flour linguine 1 or 2 cloves chopped garlic 1 chopped fresh chilli Generous drizzle SA olive oil 1 X 420g tin Cherry tomatoes Half a bunch Parsley, roughly chopped • 8 basil leaves • 800g marinara mix with added mussels in the shell (three per person)

Method 1. Fry the garlic and chilli in olive oil until lightly golden. Add the tomatoes and a little salt, then the seafood. Cover and cook for about 3-4 minutes or until the mussels are open. Add parsley and torn basil. 2. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in plenty of salted water until al dente (slightly firm in the middle when you bit into it). Strain well. 3. Add pasta to the sauce and let it sit for a few minutes to allow the pasta to absorb some of the sauce. Serve in warm bowls, dividing seafood evenly.

5 FRESH PRODUCE

EXPLORE THE EXOTIC Curious cooks once to had to scour Asian grocery stores to find obscure and exotic fruit and vegetables. Now you can explore a wide range of Asian ingredients in the fresh produce sections at Frewville and Pasadena. Market-style wooden crates are full of intriguing fruits and vegetables from bumpy-skinned bitter melons to giant pomeloes, pretty pink dragonfruit and gnarly yams. It’s fun looking at these weird and wonderful foods but many of us have no idea how to cook with the ingredients.

FOODLAND’S JOHN NGUYEN WANTS TO CHANGE THIS. He sources all Asian ingredients across Frewville and Pasadena including the fruit and vegetables. John wants to demystify some of the most popular Asian ingredients:

HOG PLUM (ALSO KNOWN AS AMBARELLA) This is a tropical, plum-like fruit with a sour-sweet taste which is great pickled with chilli and sugar. When they’re green, they have a pleasant, sour acidic fruit taste and a good crunch. They work well grated in salads or can be used in jellies, pickles or relishes or to flavour sauces, soups and stews.

THAI EGGPLANT

POMELO This South East Asian-origin citrus has a fragrant sweetness and a mild tartness. It is similar to grapefruit with less bitterness. It is a big fruit with thick rind and it takes an effort to get to the sweet flesh but it’s worth it. It can be peeled and eaten fresh or used in jams, marmalades and syrups. In Vietnam, it is used in salads with chicken or beef or fish. It pairs well with chilli, mint and lime flavours in salads.

BREADFRUIT

They’re also known as sweet turnip. If you go to Thailand, Vietnam or Cambodia, they peel the shell, cut them into pieces and put onto skewers. You can eat them raw as a really healthy snack. In cooking , yam goes well in cold rolls. Slice it , stir fry it with Chinese sauces , peanuts and chicken and roll it up in a rice paper wrapper as a cold roll. Very nice!

This is a large, starchy fruit which can be roasted, fried, boiled or baked. The texture is similar to potato or freshly-baked bread. You can take off the outer shell, cut the fruit into potato chip shapes and deep fry it.

BANANA BELL BLOSSOM FLOWER These are the deep purplish-crimson coloured banana flowers which are used as a vegetable in South East Asian cooking. The flower has a rich, creamy , nutty flavour. The external tough, dark leaves or petals need to be removed (they can be used as serving plates) to reveal the lightcoloured tender heart. The blossom /flower can be used in curries, salads, stews and stir fries.

BAMBOO SHOOTS These large, cream-coloured conical shoots are cut from the bamboo plant. Most people only know the sliced shoots in cans but this is the real thing and much nicer. Mild-flavoured and crunchy, bamboo shoots are great for bulking out soups, stews and stir fries. They need to be boiled before eating.

BITTER MELON This melon with warty skin has flesh which is crunchy and watery similar to a cucumber . It’s generally eaten cooked and is used in stir fries, soups and curries. It can be sliced into small squares and sautéed with salt, some fresh garlic and ginger. Bitter melon can be eaten raw but the bitterness is often regarded as too intense.

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Nine out 10 times you see this small, pale green, golf ball-sized eggplant in Thai curries or in Asian soups. It can also be pickled and matched with Thai shrimp cakes. They can be eaten raw with spicy dips, added to green and red curry. There’s no need to remove the skin.

YAM BEANS

6 BREADBAR

Paris Andrews

BREAKING BREAD WHEN PASSING BY THE BAKERIES AT FREWVILLE AND PASADENA BEWARE OF SENSORY OVERLOAD.

isplays of glossy pastries, whimsical cookie sandwiches and colourful doughnuts alongside rustic pizzas and freshly-baked artisan breads are hard to resist but if the visuals don’t get you, the baking aromas definitely will. Rachel Godley manages Frewville’s bakery while Jackie Zaknic heads up Pasadena bakery. They each lead a team of more than 30 staff with baking days which begin at 4am and end at 10pm. Rachel loves the buzz of bakery and says her former job as a florist comes in handy.

“That background helps me make things look pretty. It’s all about making food look beautiful, that’s what draws people in. They see it looks delicious, then they want to buy it,” she says.

Rachel finds is hard settling on a favourite item from the bakery’s ever-changing menu but she loves her team’s take on the classic, layered sweet pasty – the danish. Right now, she’s loving a strawberry and mint danish, hand made from scratch in store every day. “We team up with our Organics section and try to use seasonal produce they get from local growers so as the seasons change, so will the danishes,” she says. Jackie also names the flaky, filled danish as her all-time favourite pastry treat. I love them, they’re a science and an art to create,” she says.

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“They are so time consuming to make, you have about six different steps just to get the pastry right. It has to sit overnight and then you roll it out again, add almond paste or apple or any other filling.”

FUN FACT Danishes aren’t really Danish at all. The pastries originated in Austria and were brought to Denmark by Viennese bakers in the 1840s when Danish pastry workers went on a long-term wage strike. In Denmark, danishes are called Vienna bread or wienerbrod.

7 BUTCHER’S BLOCK

FUN FACT W ET AGEING VERSUS DRY AGEING Most steaks are wet aged which means they are stored in vacuum sealed bags and refrigerated to retain moisture. They also age faster which doesn’t allow as much flavour development.

Des Edwards

Dry- aged meat requires a top quality beef. It’s kept in a temperature and humidity controlled environment for a longer period of time. As the moisture evaporates, weight is lost. As the surface of the meat dries out, it forms a thick crust which must be trimmed before the meat can be used. The result? Fewer grams of meat for your money but a steak like no other.

Dry Means Delicious SO WHAT’S ALL THE FUSS ABOUT DRY-AGED MEAT?

nyone who’s eaten dry-aged beef will wax lyrical about its intense, rich flavours and super-tender texture.

The Rolls Royce of beef costs more than the average steak, mostly because it’s a very labour-intensive product - but it’s worth every extra cent.The drying process involves hanging the beast for extended periods in a temperature and humidity controlled environment. Over time, moisture is lost from the meat which concentrates flavour and natural

enzymes break down the connective tissue in the muscle which leads to more tender beef. Frewville and Pasadena source restaurant-quality dry-aged meat from respected local producer A Hereford Beef which farms cattle in SA’s South East and dry ages it for a minimum 30 days. The most popular cuts include rump, T bone, porterhouse and fillet. “We’ve been selling dry aged for a couple of years,” Frewville head butcher Des Edwards says. “Now it’s getting so popular that we’re focusing on it even more. We sell a lot to weekend shoppers who like to serve something a bit different to their friends. “We do all the preparation and all our customers have to do is invite their friends over and enjoy it.” Head butcher at Pasadena, David Exton, has also noted a growing interest in dry-aged beef.

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“It has amazing flavour and tenderness. It’s a special occasion steak for sure. Eventually we’re going to do dry ageing here on site, that’s the plan,” he says.

, BUTCHER S TIPS • Cook on a griddle or open grill so a little bit of the fat can drain away • Seal the meat on one side for a few minutes then turn it once only • Roast in the oven or Webber

8 SALUMIBAR

EUROPE

AT HOME THERE’S NO NEED TO JET OFF TO EUROPE FOR AN AUTHENTIC SALUMIBAR EXPERIENCE. VISIT THE SALUMERIA MUCH CLOSER TO HOME AT FREWVILLE AND PASADENA.

he bars, inspired by the salumi bars of Spain and Italy, offer artisanal cured meats from Australia and around the globe.

Chris Fraser runs the SalumiBar at Frewville and has a love for all cured meats whether its Spanish jamon, Italian prosciutto or French saucisson. “I started it from scratch. It was a dream to create that feeling of being in Spain which I think we’ve achieved,” Chris says. Sit at the bar and order a board of charcuterie or salumi and cheese, share a few small plates or grab freshly filled panini to eat in house or take away.

“If people are interested and curious they can sit down and I can take them on a journey through the different countries via their salumi,” Chris says. Complete the experience with a SalumiBar Martini made with 78 Degrees gin from the Adelaide Hills, dry vermouth and bitters. Chris says many people he’s met at the SalumiBar love the concept. “When I sit down and talk them through what we’ve got they’ve told me they feel like they’re back in Spain.” Chris’s favourite flavor right now is the artisan Serrano Jamon made by Jose Coutinho at Newton. “We hand slice it from our jamonera imported from Spain which is a clamp fixed to a wooden stand specifically designed to hold a leg of jamón,” he says.

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“The jamon is matured on the bone with trotter for 18-24 months. It’s a pretty special product. It’s very rare to see it like this, only a handful of salumi makers do it.”

Emma Franklin and Chris Fraser

9 F E A T U R E

M R

N I C K ’ S

Norman

CULINARY CREW MR NICK’S KITCHEN AND BAR AT FREWVILLE AND PASADENA SERVES UP SOME TASTY REASONS TO PARK YOUR TROLLEY.

he secret behind the quality food is a stellar lineup of chefs directing the kitchens using fresh produce all sold in store. Salvatore Pepe, Camillo Crugnale and Norman Thanakamonnun have all run award-winning restaurants and bring their professionalism and vision to at Mr Nick’s. “Grocerant” is a new concept of hybrid groceryrestaurants - a hot trend in the United States. Mr Nick’s brings the concept to Adelaide combining a supermarket with great places to eat, drink and catch up with your community. The emphasis is on a quality food experience. Indulge in a perfectly cooked wagyu rump steak or pasta tossed with local seafood. Add a glass of boutique wine to complete a distinctly delicious and different experience to a traditional supermarket visit.

SALVATORE PEPE Italian Chef Salvatore Pepe introduced Adelaide to a style of authentic Italian food we hadn’t seen before when he cooked at the legendary Cibo Ristorante in the 1990s. Salvatore is still sharing his talents at his Pepe Cucina restaurant at Burnside Village and at Mr Nick’s at Frewville and Pasadena. Salvatore was born in Calabria, trained in Tuscany and came to Australia in 1990 aged 25. “I was wanting to learn English and travel so it was a good time to do that,” he says. His first job in Australia was at Armando Percuoco’s landmark restaurant Buon Ricordo in Sydney where he spent two years before coming to Adelaide. “I worked at Rigoni’s when it was run by Giacondo Caon, it was Adelaide’s best Italian restaurant at that time. I recall Giacondo asking me to create a special menu for the 10th anniversary of the restaurant. I put on a dish of fennel with a parmesan crust, a beautiful dish. No one ate it, some tasted it, but no one ate it. In the early 1990s fennel was a rare thing to see on a menu.”

Salvatore

Salvatore is enjoying being part of the chef team at Frewville and Pasadena.

Camillo says he is enjoying working as part of such a strong culinary team.

“Normally people go to the shop with a list of ingredients and a recipe they want to cook but when you come to us, this concept gets challenged by the incredible variety on offer,” he says. “Also there is a chef who not only cooks something for you but he’s happy to share his recipe with you. Plus, I love having access to the freshest, greatest produce you can get in one place.”

“I like to come out and talk to customers about the dishes, like what the dukkah is made of, where the olive oil is from. I’m doing a lot more hosting, I’m enjoying that a lot. You have to give your time and make connections.”

CAMILLO CRUGNALE Veteran chef Camillo Crugnale has enjoyed a long cooking career and shows no signs of slowing down. He’s the food boss at Mr Nick’s at Pasadena and can often be seen wearing his chef’s toque (hat) happily chatting to customers. Camillo’s career began at the Hackney Hotel in 1982 followed by stints at Italian restaurants including Venezia in Pirie St and Settebello in Pulteney St. “I worked in David Jones for quite a few years too and learnt about everything from Beluga caviar to Grange, the finer things. It taught me a lot about quality products and also introduced me to a lot of smaller SA producers,” Camillo says. He ran Enoteca Cucina at the Italian Club before opening the popular Assaggio at Hyde Park where he cooked for nearly a decade. After a brief stint at The Stag, Camillo heard what was happening at Adelaide’s Finest Supermarkets and was keen to find out more. “I wanted a new challenge, to do something new, not just another formal dining restaurant”.

NORMAN THANAKAMONNUN Seafood guru Norman is perhaps best remembered for his award-winning restaurant The Blanc which he ran for a decade with this brothers Sam and Eric. He is an expert when it comes to seafood and how to cook it. Norman was born in Bangkok and started cooking at 13 with lessons from his mother. He arrived in Darwin in 1998 to do his apprenticeship at Diamond Beach Casino and underwent rigorous training in classical cookery. He came to Adelaide in 2002 for a job at Stamford Grand and in 2004 opened his own restaurant , The Blanc, with his brothers. Eric also now works at Frewville in the seafood department where he’s always keen to share his expertise. The Blanc won several awards for its sophisticated, Thaiinfluenced seafood menu. Norman joined the team in 2014 and has been a major contributor to the smooth operations in the seafood department and across several food sections at Frewville and Pasadena. “The vision is quite holistic. It’s about taking our food offering to another level, helping to educate customers about ingredients, giving them recipes and using our knowledge to talk with them about the cooking process,” Norman says.

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Salvatore was later part of the pioneering team who opened Cibo Ristorante in 2006 . “It was a good time and we were doing something different in Adelaide. People still tell me all the time that what we did there was unique,” he says.

Camillo

10 F E A T U R E

O F F

T H E

V I N E

Off the Vine WINE SPECIALIST DAVID RIDGE HAS COME UP WITH AN AUSTRALIAN TAKE ON AN ITALIAN CLASSIC TO MATCH WITH THE GULF SEAFOOD PASTA DISH WHICH IS WINNING HEARTS AT MR NICK’S KITCHEN AT FREWVILLE AND PASADENA.

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“It’s nicely aromatic, but subtle with various characters of melon and herbs, and a particular, grippy character in the mouth we call savoury – tannin for whites if you like – helps make it a great all rounder for lots of food styles.”

The wonderful Fiano grape is probably the premier white of (mainland) Italy’s south, where its HQ is the high country inland from Naples,” he says. “Fiano does really well in Oz too and there’s now nearly 100 producers of it. We’ve chosen this La Prova from the Adelaide Hills, as winemaker Sam Scott has made a speciality of the Italian varieties in a perfect lively, fresh and Aussie way while retaining the Italian personality.”

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“With Salvatore’s seafood pasta, Fiano is right in sync, being able to pick up on the herb elements, and it loves the partnership with garlic, oil, seafood and a touch of chilli. It feels at home!”

Salvatore's seafood pasta La Prova Fiano is served at Mr Nick’s Frewville and Pasadena.

David Ridge

11 CHEESEBAR

CULTURE CLUB

WHETHER YOU’RE INTO OOZY TRIPLE CREAM, BITEY CHEDDAR, PUNGENT BLUE OR NUTTY GRUYERE, THERE IS CHEESE FOR EVERYONE AT FREWVILLE AND PASADENA.

he CheeseBars stock an impressive 280 cheeses from around the world from Spanish Manchego to Italian Mozzarellaand Gorgonzola; Swiss Gruyere and Emmental to French Epoisses. The range can be overwhelming but cheesemongers at both stores can help whether you need a wow-factor wedge for a dinner party or a good melting style for gourmet toasties. “I’ve tasted all the cheese we have and I’m constantly learning because we keep adding to the range,” Annette Palmer from Pasadena CheeseBar says. “I love helping people with suggestions and when they come back the next week to buy it again,

then I know I’ve done the right thing.” There’s a world of cheese on offer but the team is also happy to source products on request. “We have one customer, as an example, who loves Ossau-Iraty (a Franco-Basque sheep’s milk cheese) and we can’t always get it but when we can, she buys a whole load of it,” Annette says. All that cheese shopping can work up an appetite. Pasadena now serves cheese tasting plates to enjoy while sitting at the bench with a glass of wine.

“Everyone knows D’Affinoise soft cheese from France but many don’t know there are actually five cheeses in that range. There’s a red chilli pepper version infused with red capsicum, red jalapeno chilli and cayenne and another one which has a rind coated in crushed garlic and herbs. They also make an excellent triple cream called Excellence and the Le Campagnier which is a washed rind cheese.” MY TOP ACCOMPANIMENT AT THE MOMENT IS :

Falwasser crackers made with activated charcoal. The black colour looks striking, they’re Australian made, gluten-free and go so well with cheese.”

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The ever-changing menu may include Bella Vitano espresso cheese from the US, Brebirousse d’ Argental sheep’s milk brie from France or Gorgonzola Piccante blue cheese from Italy. Cheese plates are served with crackers, dried and fresh fruits and pastes.

A NNETTE’S CURRENT FAVOURITES

CheeseBar serves tasting plates from 11am — 4pm every day at Pasadena.

12 FLOWERBAR

Jenene and Julie

FLOWER POWER THE CREATIVE BUNCH AT FLOWERBAR FREWVILLE AND PASADENA BELIEVE FLOWERS SHOULD BE AN AFFORDABLE PART OF EVERYDAY SHOPPING AND NOT JUST RESERVED FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS.

he abundant, colourful shops, inspired by small European flower boutiques, overflow with freshly-cut blooms, plants, floral arrangements and locally-made giftware. Julie Smith and Jenene Franklin run Flowerbar Frewville while Tessa Dominy heads up the Pasadena shop. “We were never meant to be a traditional florist where you only buy flowers for birthdays once a year,” Julie says. “We don’t deliver, we’re not a florist, we’re more about grab and go so you can pick up a bunch of flowers every time you’re getting your groceries.”

Tessa agrees: “We sell beautiful fresh flowers which are for your home, for taking to a friend or to enjoy yourself. We sell at market prices so we go through a lot of flowers,” she says. “My team are not all trained florists but they’re beautiful people who smile, enjoy their lives, have a creative approach and make this somewhere people want to shop because it’s such a nice environment.”

MARCH TIP

Both Flowerbars offer a calm oasis amid the greenery where you can enjoy a coffee, T Bar tea and handmade cakes from Sweet Lola.

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One of Flowerbar’s favourite local growers is Olly’s Farm at Longwood in the Adelaide Hills which is home to an array of native flowers from proteas to blue gum.

Jenene, who has a background in floristry, says flowers are sourced from local growers in Longwood and Balhannah in the Adelaide Hills and Angle Vale, supplemented by some varieties from interstate not available in SA.

Blue gum is available year round and makes a perfect decoration on its own, mixed with flowers or even as a table runner. Jeremy from Olly’s Farm says their gum is lush and long lasting and available in a few varieties.

Tessa

13 F E A T U R E

Y O U T H

I N C

A PLACE FOR ALL outh Inc. is an independent, not-forprofit education organisation that supports youth aged 17 to 24 who have disengaged from mainstream education or employment pathways.

He says encouragement for the concept from all sectors has been overwhelming. “People have been telling us what we knew, that no one is doing this. I think what we’re doing will resonate,” he says.

Spero Chapley, who founded the organization, says it’s aimed at young adults who are ready for a change, who may have left school too early, tried something else that didn’t work or who want to get their life back on track.

“The system is hard. Young adults are being set up for failure. They come to us for the first time with this dubious here-we-go-again feeling so it’s our job from the second they meet with us to change this.

Youth Inc has now entered a new era as a progressive school set to bring positive change to the lives of young adults who need it the most. The official opening of the school this month is a watershed moment for Spero. “This is our 10th official year but I’ve been working at this for 12 years,” he says. “I started it from scratch. It was very innocent and naïve back then,” he says.

“There was no lightning bolt moment when I started it but I knew I wanted to do something and I knew there were a lot of young adults who didn’t have the support which I’d had.”

“I had a privileged upbringing but still I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I was 17 or 18. I was very confused, actually. It’s a hard time for young adults and that’s heightened if you haven’t got support.”

Youth Inc. principal Fred Heidt leads a team of teaching staff who run the 12-month learning and employment program which combines SACE and VET qualifications with part-time work, small business and life skills. “It will be different because we don’t have classes - we have workshops, meetings and forums. We don’t have uniforms, bells, and rules, we have an adult learning space. We don’t have assignments, tests or exams - we have real-life learning opportunities based on your interests and goals,” Fred says. Spero believes the concept of Youth Inc. is what’s needed to capture the imagination of young adults who have fallen through the cracks of education and employment. “Young adults are at such a critical time. Life can take you in the wrong direction very quickly at that age, from late teens to early 20s,” he says. “If life doesn’t take the right path at that age then, yes, you can still redirect but it’s harder.”

To say Spero is a busy man is an understatement. He runs the award-winning and constantlyevolving ‘World’s Best Supermarkets’ at Frewville and Pasadena while also donating a considerable chunk of his time to Youth Inc. He is adamant that Youth Inc isn’t about him, or his family but it has been his vision from the start. “It’s hard to say why I do this. It runs quite deep for me. I guess our family, we’re not your run of the mill commercial business minded people,” he says. “Everyone says it, I know, but we really are community minded at the very heart of what we do. “With our family, with me particularly, I think actions speak louder than words. So I tend to want to lead by action, by example, and not by talking too much. “I always think if you’re lucky or work hard enough to get ahead you should pause and either wait for those around you to catch up or turn back and bring them with you.”

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Youth Inc. is formally registered as an independent, co-educational senior secondary school but Spero says “that’s as close as we get to

a conventional learning environment”. The new Hindley Street “studio school” has an innovative layout with a student lounge, a pop-up shopfront, enterprise studios, meeting rooms and student collaborative spaces. This unorthodox approach also applies to the teaching.

“We want them to feel this is family, we will support them. This is not just a place where they come in, go through a program and get shipped out. The ‘bring-em-in-ship-em out’ approach is always based on funding, tick and flick. We are not about that.”

14 SPICEBAR

Spice it up PASADENA’S SPICEBAR IS A GO-TO DESTINATION FOR MORE THAN 160 SPICES AND CLASSIC BLENDS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE.

he exotic, fragrant spicery has an A to Z of ground spices which are at the heart of Asian, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, South American and Australian cuisines. The bar’s thoughtful presentation includes cleverly-designed spice boxes containing everything from brightly-coloured turmeric to aromatic cardomon and essential blends such as Middle Eastern za’atar or India’s garam masala. HOT PICK

The products are sourced from Rubyspice World Spice Emporium run by SA’s Jackie Singh who imports, grinds, roasts and blends all the premium spices.

Jueyenne’s favourite spice right now is guallijo chilli powder which is ground Mexican guallijo peppers. Guajillo (pronounced gwa-hee-yoh) has an appealing sweet, smoky, tangy heat.

Spice Bar manager Jueyenne Staltari says the selfserve, bulk displays are handy for buying as much or as little as you need.

Jueyenne Staltari

“While spice doesn’t technically go off , it does lose aroma, colour and flavour potency over time so we recommend buying smaller amounts and more often,” she says.

“I put it in my chilli con carne and it’s amazing. It’s also brilliant added to chocolate brownies… chocolate and chilli are a marriage made in heaven,” she says.

“If someone wants just 10g of a particular spice, they can have it, that’s the whole premise, that you buy what you need and you don’t have to waste anything.

“You can even bring in a recipe, give it to us, go off have a coffee and when you come back we will have it all measured and bagged up for you and away you go”. Jueyenne says a growing number of home cooks, and particularly men, are getting excited about spice. “Customers used to come in and only buy what they knew but now we find they’re coming in and starting to ask a lot of questions,” she says. “Spices like (Middle Eastern) sumac, a lot of people have heard about it but never seen it, and they want to use it but don’t know how and we’re really happy to help.”

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“I guess with all those TV shows like Man Versus Food, a lot of guys are getting into barbecues and smoking so they come in and ask about dry rubs for the meats,” she says. “It’s a learning curve for everyone but it’s good, everyone is joining in the spice party.”

STORAGE TIPS • Spice should be tightly capped and stored in air-tight containers away from light, heat or moisture. • Red-coloured spices such as chilli powder can be kept in the refrigerator to retain their colour for longer.

15 F E A T U R E

G R O W E R S

Georgia and Mauro

FEATURE GROWER Young farmers Georgia Efrosinis and Mauro Sasso from Pennyfield Organic Produce (POP) in the Riverland are suppliers to Frewville. The couple grow an array of seasonal certified fruit, herbs and vegetables on their farm just outside of Berri. It’s all seasonal, chemical and pesticide-free produce.

“The small scale farms like these guys (Pennyfield Organic Produce) are able to grow different things from conventional farmers, stuff that’s not mass produced,” Dylan says.

FROM THE EARTH rganics guru Dylan Shaw from Frewville says he’d like to shatter a few myths about chemical-free produce.

“Organic food always had the stigma that it costs five times the amount of conventional produce but the reality is, a lot of it doesn’t cost much more,” he says.

“That’s part of why I love working on the shop floor so I can connect with the customers and let them know that our bananas are actually the same price as conventional bananas and our organic oranges are cheaper. “Some items may cost more because they’re labour intensive or there’s not much of it around but the stuff that’s in season, well, I could name 10 organic items now that are cheaper.”

“For instance, on the farm where I work we had a problem with zucchinis getting too big in the hot weather. Normally they’d be wasted and just get dumped or made into compost but I was like: ‘no, we can sell them, they’re fine’. “You can’t go into any big supermarkets and see this as they’d just tell the grower ‘we’re not taking them’. So the other thing I love is knowing that we are helping reduce food waste.” A genuine interest in organics has helped Dylan and his team build great customer loyalty. “One customer drives from Golden Grove just to buy stuff from us,” he says. “The two most important people to us are our growers, our suppliers, and the guys putting stuff in their baskets, the customers … they’re the two most important links in the chain.”

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Dylan is Frewville’s organic produce manager and, in his spare time, works at an organic farm at Mt Barker.

“I live and breathe organics every day and that’s why I love talking about it to customers. Being on the farm also makes me appreciate it all a bit more,” he says.

“There’s not a huge market for them to make lots of money but often they’re not doing it to make lots of money, they do it because they love what they do, and love trying to grow all these unique things.” Georgia and Mauro say they love the supermarket’s ethos about making good, healthy food available to all. “The importance of people making the connection to where food comes from and how it comes to be on your plate is something that is becoming more and more important these days,” Georgia says. “These guys are managing to make grocery shopping alone into an incredibly unique, calm, colourful and exciting experience.”

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