Hunting and gathering at Kingsley’s Meats

When I walked into Kingsley’s Meats a couple of weeks for the first time, I was immediately struck by the stylish, warm and cosy interior, very befitting of the Rose Bay village shops which it is nestled into.

Headed up by Joel (ex-Hudson’s Meats) and the familiar faces of Mark and Troy (ex GRUB), I found the staff super friendly and helpful from the start.

Here you will find an abundance of grass fed and finished meats, pastured chickens and pork, all from various local farms. One wall is lined with various jars and condiments and the freezer is stocked with organ meats (brains, chicken livers, black pudding), bones for stock making, limited dairy, pies and Careme puff pastry.

But proceed with caution: Don’t expect that ALL of the meats and products will be pasture fed and finished and free of grains and preservatives. If these factors matter to you (and they do to me) then the key is thatyou will have to ASK! There’s a subset of products there that I wouldn’t buy eg cocktail Frankfurt sausages, grain-fed wagyu, rice flour based sausages, pastry, pies and probably most if not all of the visually enticing condiments that grace the shelf. When I questioned Joel on why he stocks these less than super nutritious products he replied that he is servicing a market, and that many of his customers in the local vicinity expect and demand these types of products. Ok, so not everyone has the same standards of nutrition as I do.  I get and respect that. At the end of the day Joel is running a business and has to pay rent and cover other expenses. I appreciate that while I only make and sell products that I am proud of my family and I (and my customers) consuming, for others this may not be a commercial reality. What I DO admire about Kingsley’s Meats is:

(a) the staffs’ knowledge of their products and their complete honesty and transparency in their source and processing. For example, they will NOT hide the fact that some of the products contain preservatives or that the wagyu is grain-fed etc

(b) the staffs’ willingness to tailor a product to meet the customer’s standards (e.g. they will happily make grain-free sausages if you pre-order 5kg and divi up between friends) and they will happily order in less than popular (but nutrient-dense) meats on an ad hoc basis on request (eg lambs brains, chook feet for making gelatinous chicken broth etc).

From the couple of times I have been there I walked out with armfuls of very reasonably priced chicken feet, chicken livers, beef cutlets, eye fillet and black pudding (the black pudding- traditional pork blood sausages- was amazing sliced then pan fried in beef tallow …. tasted like a super flavoursome sausage! Left over pieces were thrown into kids school lunches which they devoured).

I commend Joel and his team for establishing this little gem where we can purchase pastured meats and (often hard to source) organ meats.

Contact details are: 22 Plumer Road, Rose Bay (ph 9363 4971). Closed Sundays.

Kingsleys Meats are in the process of setting up a wesbite but in the meantime you can Like them on Facebook here.

Have you been to Kingsley’s Meats? What did you think of it?

Henley's Wholefoods - a new cafe in Bondi Junction

I am often asked  for recommendations on where to eat lunch in the Eastern suburbs. Surprisingly, eateries that offer 'clean' food are few and far between in this neck of the woods and I have until now struggled to provide a recommendation for a place that I would be eager to dine at without having to perform what I call 'menu gymnastics' (when eyes rolls when I begin to alter the ingredients of a meal on a menu). Enter Henley's Wholefoods. This cafe sneaked into the Eastern suburbs wholefoods scene with little fanfare and publicity in November 2013 but the feedback I had received from clients and friends has all been overwhelming positive. A couple of weeks ago I finally managed to get there and had the pleasure of interviewing co-owner Sophie Henley over a slow cooked lamb lunch.

Soulla: What was the catalyst for opening Henley's? Sophie: I saw a need in the market for something truly wholesome with a cafe feel. In particular I wanted to cater to people who had food intolerances. I grew up on a farm in Northern NSW where home-cooked nourishing meals made from scratch were a daily staple and this is what I wanted to provide in my cafe.

Soulla: What is your food ethos/philosophy? Sophie: in a word "Wholefoods!" We specifically didn't want to use a label such as 'Paleo'. 

Soulla: Tell me about the provenance of your food (the meat, eggs, dairy and produce etc)? Sophie: We like to support local and small businesses as much as possible:

• The meat is all grass fed and finished from "The Meat Store" a few doors down on Oxford Street.
• The eggs are from Egganic [Soulla: this is where I get my eggs from too!]
• The milk is from Riverina Fresh. We use a lot of coconut cream and coconut yogurt too.
• The produce is all fresh from local farmers and almost all is certified organic.
• The salmon is farmed. [Soulla: I have put Sophie in contact with David from Canadian Way with a view to Henley's offering wild salmon in the future].
• We do not offer pork or bacon on the menu. I don't eat pork so it's not something that I have incorporated into the menu.

Soulla: What oils/fats do you cook with and use? Sophie: We only use coconut oil and olive oil. We don't use any industrialised oils.

Soulla: what sweeteners do you use? Sophie: agave syrup and maple syrup.

Soulla: I noticed that you recently decided to introduce grains into your menu. Tell me about the reasons behind that. Sophie: I think certain grains are good for you. We were getting feedback from customers which indicated we needed to offer greater diversity and we want to cater for a more diverse range of people. The grains we offer are all properly prepared such as soaked quinoa and rye sourdough. We are currently trialling a sprouted bread too. Our pizza bases are actually grain-free and made from egg whites and coconut flour. 

Soulla: With Paleo cafe just upstairs how do you see 2 wholefoods cafes operating in such close proximity? Sophie: we are different to Paleo Cafe in that 1) we are organic; 2) we can be more creative and flexible with our menu because we are not a franchise; and 3) we have totally different feel.

Soulla: Is all of the food prepared onsite? Sophie: Yes everything is prepared here from scratch except the coconut yogurt. We have an open kitchen with provides transparency.

Soulla: What meals are offered? Sophie: we currently offer breaksfast, lunch and snacks. Dinner is something we are looking into. We are open Monday to Saturday 6am - 4pm. Sundays 7:30am-4pm. [see photos of menu at bottom of post]

Soulla: How often does the menu change? Sophie: lunch changes every Wednesday, breakfast is more stable and changes less frequently.

Soulla: Do you consider Henley's Wholefoods kid friendly? Sophie: Yes. Kids love the sweet potatoes with aeoli. There are no deep-fried foods. 

Soulla: Plan for further stores? Sophie: Yes we hope to open in Oxford Street, Paddington, mid year.... and possibly Newtown after that. We are also currently servicing the cafe part of a supplement store called Performer Nutrition.

Soulla: What response have you had from the market since you opened in November? Sophie: We have been delighted with our growth since we opened especially since we have only promoted ourselves through social media and word of mouth!

Talking aside, I  thoroughly enjoyed my slow cooked cumin rubbed lamb, with tzatziki and mint with a colourful 'Rainbow Action' salad and a latte. The meal was a really decent size, beautifully presented and delicious! And not dissimilar to what I would make at home. 

Henley's Wholefoods is tucked away down the stairs from Paleo Cafe on Oxford Street Bondi Junction next to Snap Fitness (with an entrance on Grafton Street too). It has an an impressive menu, a bunch of super friendly staff and a lovely cafe feel.

I think the incorporation of wild salmon and pastured pork / bacon products into the menu would be a welcome addition. I'm not a huge fan of agave syrup (too high in fructose) and prefer maple syrup or raw honey as my sweeteners of choice but I appreciate how much more expensive the latter are. These small issues aside, I would highly recommend Henley's as a place to enjoy a beautiful wholefoods meal reminiscent of home, or as a place to catch up with friends over a coffee and a treat.

Have you eaten at Henley's Wholefoods yet? If so, what did you think? I would love to hear your feedback.

You can Like Henley's Wholefoods on Facebook and/or follow on Instagram.

Diet and athletic performance: an interview with Blake Worrall-Thompson on my work with the Roosters

Following on from my recent blog post on the work I did with the Sydney Roosters as their nutrition coach, I was recently interviewed  by Blake Worrall-Thompson who is the Director/Founder of Ministry of Wellbeing, a personal training organisation.

To view the interview on U-Tube click here.

Blake runs periodic "6 Weeks to Sexy" personal training programs aimed at females. For those who might be interested I encourage you to check  out Blake's website and/or contact him on: Phone: 0433 820 408 Web: www.ministryofwellbeing.com Email: blake@mowb.com.au Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/wellbeingbyblake Blog: http://www.wellbeingbyblake.com Instagram: blakewt1

I will be offering cooking classes to Blake's clients who are undertaking this 6 week program. Training becomes so much more effective when you combine it with eating the right foods. You can't out-train a poor diet.

Coincidentally, a couple weeks after I posted my article on the Sydney Roosters, an article was published in the USA on the Lakers who have also adopted a nutrient-dense traditional wholefoods diet under the guidance of their new nutrition coach. To view  the article on the Lakers click here. I find it interesting (but not surprising) that the new nutrition coach for the Lakers is  Catherine Shanahan who wrote “Deep Nutrition- Why our Genes need Traditional Foods”.  I read that book a few years back and it is, in my view, a seminal text on nutrition and one of the few books that I am constantly recommending to friends, colleagues and clients.  I have the utmost respect for Catherine and what she has brought to the table in terms of her research and learnings on epigenetics and how environmental factors – in particular nutrients and toxins- directly impact gene expression. There is definitely a growing  movement worldwide back towards a nutrient-dense ancestral wholefoods diet, which is where we originally started from. The tide is starting to turn. There is a long way to go but the experience of the Sydney Roosters and the Lakers are but 2 examples that more and more athletes and their nutrition coaches worldwide are starting to question to the conventional food pyramid which has been such a dismal failure in protecting our health. The dangers of sugar and trans fats have now squarely hit the mainstream. I think its only a matter of time before more people start to question the consumption of refined grains, sports foods/drinks, synthetic supplements and industrial seed (processed) oils.

Would love to hear from any athletes (professional or amateur) or PTs out there on their experience with how conventional diet versus traditional wholefoods influences training and athletic performance.