BROTH BAR & LARDER IS NOW OPEN!!

I am beyond excited to announce that today Monday 7th December the doors of our brand new retail shop fly open. Broth Bar & Larder is officially born in Bronte in Sydney’s east!  

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Broth Bar & Larder is the first dedicated broth bar in Sydney. It is an extension of my kitchen. It was born out of a desire to create a small and inviting space to enjoy home-made, nourishing and completely unprocessed foods made to the same standard that my children and I eat at home. I wanted to create the type of place that I would personally eat at. A place where I don’t have to make endless enquiries about the source and provenance of the ingredients that go into the food. A place where I can feel totally assured that the food is traditionally-prepared, and made with the highest quality of ethically-sourced ingredients without any artificial crap or empty fillers. A place which represents the fusion of two worlds: olde world wisdoms, traditions and artisan crafts with a slick contemporary edge. I wanted to create that space for you.

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My MISSION is, and always has been since I created Star Anise Organic Wholefoods 5 years ago, to bring nutrient-dense traditional wholefoods back to the modern table for vibrant health and longevity. And what better way to start than with a simple cup of broth which can be so satisfying, hugely comforting, and rich in complex flavours and nutrients. All customers who walk in the door are given a free tasting of our signature chicken broth.  And boy how I love seeing and hearing their responses after their first sip! It’s really touching!

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The INGREDIENTS that go into our products are meticulously sourced from the finest provenance. Our beef and chicken broths are made from 100% pastured and certified organic bones. All of our ingredients are, much as humanly possible, certified organic. All Star Anise Organic Wholefoods products are free from refined sugars, gluten, industrial seed oils, tap water, agave syrup, and (other than the pâté & some soups) also free of dairy. Our products do not contain any artificial or processed ingredients. I pride myself on my commitment to purity and authenticity. I could opt for conventional ingredients at a fraction of the price but I have chosen not to. It’s not what I’m about and stand for. The food created in this space is what I personally consume and take home for my kids and I to eat. If I wouldn’t eat it myself, then we don’t make it. That quality control makes it really simple. We have added a suppliers page to our website so that you can see exactly where we source each ingredient from. I wish all companies did this.

Broth Bar & Larder encompasses both our retail space and our commercial kitchen, all under the one roof. All our Star Anise Organic Wholefoods products are handcrafted on-site, displaying transparency to consumers. These products are available dine-in or takeaway from the Broth Bar, or can be purchased pre-packaged from the Larder (pantry).

We are offering hot broth in 3 sizes (baby broth, small and large) with various broth flavour bombs (eg. chilli, fish sauce, tamari, lemon juice, spices) as well as our 5 broth based soups. The menu also includes a substantial Provincial Plate – a full meal encompassing nutrient-dense morsels of pâté with vegetable crudités, Iggy’s sourdough bread, fermented veggies, raw milk cheese and jumbo green olives. We are also serving our gluten-free activated buckwheat-based muesli all day as well as broth-infused smoothies (trust me, you won't taste the broth when a couple of frozen beef broth cubes are thrown in for extra nutrient-density and frothiness) and our beet kvass and kombucha. As a summer special, take-away brothsicles (broth-boosted iceblocks) are on sale! Kids love these. Big ones too!

The Broth Bar menu and Larder price list can be found on the dedicated Broth Bar & Larder page on my website HERE.

You can still purchase all our products online by sending an email to orders@staraniseorganic. We ship dry goods all over Australia and refrigerated/frozen goods all over Sydney for a flat courier fee. Check out any of the Products page of our website for prices.

I will conducting my one on one health coaching sessions from the Broth Bar. I am still working as a health coach all through this period and will also run all my cooking workshops (resuming Feb 2016) from the Broth Bar. So everything under the one roof! My house is now feeling incredibly…home-like!
 

The response we have had from the community during our soft launch last week was incredibly overwhelming. People are so excited, supportive and encouraging. Far more than I ever expected. The first thing people comment on when stepping foot in the door is the aroma. “Oh it smells so nice in here”. Yep that’s our chicken broth slow simmering on the stove!

The process of setting up this space over the past couple of months has been overwhelming, electrifying and incredibly intense to say the least. I have learnt so much and most of all that things rarely go to plan and the only thing I can control is my reaction to countless daily obstacles. I have experienced every gamut of emotion. Very much like a mother giving birth to a precious newborn with all of the trials and tribulations that come with that, all the while needing to attend to the needs and desires of older children.

What started out as a hobby business from home 5 years ago grew and expanded to the point that I was bursting at the seams and climbing over boxes to get into my bed at night. Stock pots simmering all over the house (“I’ve never seen anyone cook in their lounge room before!” exclaimed my son’s friend one day. “Mate, you should see what’s going on in my bedroom!” I retorted). Despite the mountains of boxes and stock pots, operating from home felt safe and comfortable. A commercial shop sounded expensive, tricky and too grown up. But the universe conspired something different for me and pushed me (somewhat resistingly) in this direction. It often takes a lightening bolt of energy for me to switch courses. I felt like I had been pushed off a cliff, freefalling, desperately trying to find solid ground. The ground still feels very shaky even now. I’m not sure I’m even touching it! I have taken a gigantic leap of faith. The words of Whitney Houston ring loud in my ears daily “If I fail, if I succeed, at least I’ll live as I believe”. I’m determined, committed and hard-working.  I want to make my children proud. I want to create something truly unique, exciting and beautiful for all of us.

To celebrate the opening, we are offering all loyal followers of my blog - yes YOU! - a special promotional gift voucher which entitles you to 50% off any small packet of activated nuts for every purchase of a small broth or a broth-infused smoothie. Simply mention that you are a recipient of my newsletter to redeem this special offer.

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In addition, EVERY time you post about Broth Bar & Larder on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter (or share someone else’s post about Broth Bar & Larder) you will receive 10% off a hot broth or smoothie! 

I hope to see you at Broth Bar & Larder really soon to share with you my passion for simple pleasures and conscious consumption. Whether it’s a simple cup of broth, a substantial meal, a hearty bowl of soup, a delightful bottle of Earl Grey kombucha or just to come in and say hi and have a chat, everyone is welcome, young and old. Bubbas can entertain themselves with the wooden toys, books and crayons in the kids basket. School kids can enjoy a healthy treat or brothsicle, and teenagers are loving the broth-boosted smoothies. And everyone is grateful that we are still selling Iggys sourdough bread! 

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BROTH BAR & LARDER

49 BELGRAVE ST, BRONTE, NSW, 2024
(the old Iggy’s bakery)

OPENING HOURS
8AM - 6PM 7 DAYS

 Soulla Chamberlain, Creator & Director:
0407 871 884
Tom Landauer, Manager & Co-Director:
0481 454 631

With much gratitude,
Soulla Chamberlain & the Star Anise Organic Wholefoods team

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SAOW November Update

we are excited to announce the following new products!

beef stock cubes

We have frozen our beef broth (without added salt) into ice-cube sized portions for you to conveniently pop a cube or 2 into smoothies and sport drinks for extra nutrient-density and frothiness (without affecting the taste at all!). Any which way to sneak in our beloved bone broth into little bellies (big ones too!) is a winner. You can also add these cubes to sauces, stews and baby’s food for extra nutrient-density and liquid.

Our beef broth is long slow simmered using certified organic bones from 100% grass fed & finished cows raised on sustainable Australian farms. Our broth is truly unique because it was formulated in consultation with an integrative GP, a wholefoods dietician and naturopath to be completely free of FODMAPs and low allergenic as possible.   

I have been adding 2 cubes of frozen beef broth into my morning smoothies for almost 10 years. I started blogging about it in 2012 here and started teaching people how to do it when I started running my bone broth workshops 5 years ago. Earlier this year a customer walked into my workshop and said “You know Soulla, you really should start selling your frozen beef broth cubes”. So the idea was born but didn’t become a reality until recently as life got in the way. I’ve had tremendous response to this new product to date. It can be purchased directly from me or selected stockists such as The Health Emporium in Bondi, Foodies in Peakhurst and All Good Things Organic Market in Wollongong.

The retail price and list of ingredients can be found here.

Scroll down to read my nutrient-dense smoothie recipe!

veggie stock

We crafted this vegetable stock in response to a number of requests over the years and more recently. This stock is made by long slow simmering certified organic vegetables and dulse (a sea vegetable). This provides for a mineral-rich and intensely flavoursome vegetable broth. Suitable for vegetarians and vegans or those wishing to consume more nutrients in their diet. Some of my meat-eating friends drink veggie broth in place of water for parts of the day to up the nutrient-density ante. After all, vegetable broth can be thought of as nutrient-dense water. My 7 year old daughter is in love with my vegetable stock and asks for it. There must be minerals in there that her body is somewhat lacking. She loves taking it to school in a thermos container.

Click here and scroll down to the bottom of screen for the retail price and list of ingredients.

coming soon...

We also hope to launch a heap of new products in the coming weeks and months including veggie chips (salted or spicy), brothsicles (broth-infused ice blocks) made with Ovvio Organic teas or coconut milk based, gluten-free crackers, kale chips, spicy activated pumpkin seeds, spicy activated cashews, a gluten-free breadcrumb mix and ready-made casserole meals with root veggies and 100% pastured meat or chicken. Yes we have been busy (and that’s not the half of it!). 

I can’t wait to share these new products with you!  My passion is creating new products which don’t exist in the market or the quality of which is lacking. The products that I make and sell are IDENTICAL to the ones I make at home for myself and my kids. The same ingredients are used and the same preparation methods are employed. Our products are completely free of gluten, refined sugar, industrial seed oils and tap water. For these reasons and more. I believe our products are truly unique in the marketplace. I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of my long-standing customers for your loyal support and for all of our new customers – your feedback and support has been touching and greatly appreciated. 

To make a delicious nutrient-dense smoothie for 1, blend the following with a stick blender:

+ 3/4 cup milk of choice (full-fat dairy, coconut or nut milk)
+ 2 frozen cubes of beef broth
+ 1/2 banana or 1-2 medjool dates
+ 1 tbsp extra virgin cold pressed coconut oil (optional)
+ 1-2 raw pastured egg yolks (optional). Not the whites! To understand why egg whites must NOT be consumed raw read one of my earlier posts here.

+ choice of flavours: 2 tsp raw cacao powder, 1/4 tsp vanilla bean powder, 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder, pinch of nutmeg, 1/4 cup berries or 1/2 fresh mango.

Leftovers can be poured into ice-block moulds and frozen to make brothsicles! You may like to increase the sweetener if freezing.

Our fermented veggies have recently had a make-over with new glass jars. We will update all of the photos on the website in the coming weeks but for information about prices and ingredients click here!

We make 3 types of fermented veggies:

+ Sauerkraut
+ Turmeric spiced sauerkraut
+ Kim ch

I recommend up to ½ cup of fermented veggies be consumed per day. I have a heaped tablespoon or 2 as a condiment with eggs for brekky and I throw some into my salad at lunch. Packed with probiotics that proliferate as a result of the wild fermentation method, home-made fermented veggies are a must for robust gut health, immune function, skin and oral health, brain function and metabolism.

We welcome the following 2 new stockists on board:

Bondi Beach Chemist.

This institution of 18 years in South Bondi (opposite icebergs) is now stocking our activating nuts….the perfect summer beach snack–attack!

They are open 7 days and can be contacted at:
bondibeach.chemist@frednet.com.au
(02) 91305270
14 Campbell Pde, Bondi Beach NSW

Enliven Fitness & Enliven Organics

Enliven Organics is a online Sydney-based organic food delivery service. 

Enliven Fitness Studio offers a holistic approach to your health, fitness and weight loss goals.

They are located at 327/308 Wattle Street, Ultimo, NSW 02 8203 4598.

Follow them on instagram @enlivenfitness.

They are selling a selection of our date coconut balls, power bars, broths, broth-based soups, chicken liver pate, kombucha and beet kvass.

Henley’s Wholefoods

Congratulations Sophie Henley for opening up her third Henley’s Wholeoods in under 2 years: first in Bondi Junction which I blogged about here, then in Alexandria and now in the Intercontinental Hotel, Cross Street, Double Bay. We are in love with your work and your contribution to the wholefoods scene in Sydney. All food in made on the premises. Sophie is meticulous about the source and processing of what she offers customers. Yet another amazing clean eats place for brekky, lunch and snacks. 

New organic butcher: “1888 certified”

Also opened in Double Bay is a new butcher “1888 certified” selling 100% grass fed and finished, antibiotic-free and hormone-free meat from local farms. Previously located in Hall Street Bondi they moved their store to larger digs just behind About Life in Double Bay. The founders, Charlie Crichton and Tim White, are farmers and their forefathers have been farmers and graziers since 1888, hence the name. I visited their beautifully decorated store on the weekend and spoke at length to owner Tim. I share with you this information that he relayed to me:

+ They can absolutely guarantee the provenance of their meat. It might surprise you that few butchers can. Their beef, lamb and heritage pork  come from farms owned by the owners themselves or a select number of other local farms. The chickens are from Bannockburn. All these meats are not certified organic but as I have previously discussed in an earlier post organic certification is comforting but is not the be-all-and-end-all. I always look behind the existence or absence of a stamp, and do my own due diligence to ascertain “Is this in substance organic?”

+ They age their own beef.

+ They make their own biltong and bacon.

+ The cured meats are from Pino’s Dolce Vita Fine Foods.

+ Some sausages contain breadcrumbs and some are grain-free. Please ask!

+ They hope to sell a range of organ meats and bones too in the near future. In the meantime, these can be specially ordered.

+ They only use filtered (and not tap) water in their products.  

Shop K2, 1 Kiaora Lane Double Bay 2028 NSW (under Dan Murphy's) 
(02) 9328 3200
info@1888certified.com.au

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Go check them out. We welcome them and wish them every success!

EQ Wholefoods, Moore Park

EQ Wholefoods popped up at the Entertainment Quarter (near the farmers market) but this pop up is now staying. Hooray! They have a huge open space stocked with beautiful organic wholefood products. They do not serve ready-to-eat food (yet!) – only pre-packaged products that you will recognise and love. How cool are the beautiful larger than life size photos of the raw cacao beans on the windows?! I wonder how many people would even recognise these as raw cacao beans? Now you know...

If anyone has any lingering concerns about the consumption of red meat following the recent WHO report, I suggest you read Chris Kresser’s response here and/or Mark Sisson’s response here.  

"Mama, what's so bad about vegetable oil?" my 7 year old happen to ask me on the day that an article in the Sydney Morning Herald appeared highlighting the dangers of vegetable oils.

The article summarises that "Cooking with vegetable oils releases toxic chemicals linked to cancer and other diseases, according to leading scientists, who are now recommending food be fried in olive oil, coconut oil, butter or even lard."

Amen. Knew we were onto something. Vegetable oils are one of the most unhealthy fats you can consume for the following reasons:

 1. they are extremely high in omega 6 polyunsaturated fatty acids which cause inflammation, and inflammation in turn is the root cause of all (yes all!) modern disease including cancer, cardiovascular disease, hormone disruption, mental health problems including violent behaviour. This is all backed by robust scientific studies. 

2. they are made by an extremely industrialised process

3. they contain no nutritive benefit (100% empty calories) 

4. they are not heat stable yet they are used to cook with further denaturing the heat sensitive omega 6 fats. 

5. they are particularly damaging to children and unborn children according to Dr Catherine Shanahan in her book “Deep Nutrition: why our genes need traditional foods”.

P.S. vegetable oil doesn’t actually contain any vegetables!!  But it’s a great marketing name, right?!

Most restaurants and all fast food chains cook in vegetable oil because it's so damn cheap. Rethink store-bought deep fried foods in particular! So where should we eat out? Read this and this. Cook more at home! Make your own chips with coconut oil. Kids love this especially if you get them involved! Read the labels on all packaged goods- if it contains vegetable oils of any description ditch it! Life's too short and you and your kids are too precious to eat crap oils. Opt for the delicious healthy fats that your great grandmother cooked in: butter, tallow, lard, ghee or coconut oil. Our bodies (esp brains!!) need saturated fats from natural sources to grow and function properly and to perform our best. Why settle for anything less?!

A few years ago I wrote a post on Dr Kate Norris being one of the handful of integrative GPs in Sydney who I highly recommend. She is on exactly the same nutritional and lifestyle page. A couple years ago she left for Victoria but now she’s back and practising in Bondi Junction. For me it’s imperative that all of my health care professionals (from my dentist, GP, osteopath and naturopath) are on exactly the same nutritional page and speak and understand my language. It’s reassuring to know that, at least in Sydney, such people exist. We welcome Kate back!

I recommend you check out her brilliant website here. The other utterly brilliant integrative GP who I work with and highly recommend is Dr Min Yeo, also based in Bondi Junction. For recommendations on GPs further afield, please contact me directly.

A few months ago I had promised to run a heap of cooking workshops in the latter part of the year. Unfortunately I am not able to do that at present as a unique and exciting adventure has presented itself to me rather unexpectedly. Given the enormity of what’s involved for my business, I need to throw much of my energies into that. I hope to be able to reveal all of the details very very soon! Workshops will resume in 2016 in full swing!

Newsy Wholefoodie Update!

Iggy's Bread, 131 Macpherson St, Bronte, NSW. Best sourdough bread in Australia hands down.

Pure Wholefoods, 10 Darley Rd, Manly, NSW. This is a beautiful organic café in an iconic location.

Pymble Grove Health Centre, Suite 11, Level 3, 924 Pacific Highway, Gordon, NSW. This well-established centre offers the best of complementary medicine with traditional medicine and has GPs, naturopaths, paediatricians and clinical psychologists. The Dispensary arm stocks a wide range of practitioner-only and retail products include some of my range.  

A complete list of all our stockists can be found on our website here. Not all stockists sell the entire range of our products so if you are after something in particular call ahead first. You can also collect direct from our workshop in Waverley or we courier all over Sydney and send dry goods all over Australia. 

Ora at 17b Whilster St, Manly is a café doing great things in the traditional wholefoods scene. From bone broths, to pastured slow cooked meats, to pate, to fermented foods, to clean treats, this seems like the place to eat when not eating at home. Open 7am – 4pm. 

Bondi Wholefoods organic café and groceries (who I blogged about when they first opened here) is about to open a second (much larger) store at 517-527 Elizabeth Street, Surry hills. Stayed tuned!

We are excited to have been asked to showcase our products again at the next 2 Conscious Club events on THURSDAY 22ND OCTOBER and THURSDAY 3RD DECEMBER. The 22 October event (called The Best of the Best) has 3 of the world's truly remarkable minds on one stage:

Daniel Pinchbeck (USA) - Author, Change Maker and Visionary Thinker
Kip Andersen (USA) - Filmaker and Environmentalist (Cowspiracy)
Luka Lesson- Award winning spoken word Poet and Artist.

When: 

Thursday 22nd October

Time: 

6pm Meal and Mingle
7pm: Presentation starts
9pm: Mingle, teas and treats until 10pm

Where: 

Paddington Town Hall Sydney: 249 Oxford St (cnr of Oxford & Oatley Rd)

Price: 

General admission $55
Students $45
$15 for a Vegetarian/Gluten Free meal    

For more info click here and to book a tix click here. We look forward to seeing you there and making available to you (via sales and samples) our organic activated nuts, sokolata (raw dark crap-free chocolate), and power bars.

Have you joined the Club?

To book into my Rethinking Breakfast workshop on Sunday 18th October or the bone broth workshop on Sunday 1st November both at All Good things Organic Market in Wollongong CLICK HERE. Only a few spots left and filling fast!

The Foam Rolling workshop on 13 October is fully booked but there are 2 spots left in the Foam Rolling workshop the following week on 20 October 7:30pm. Find out more here. 

The bone broth Worksop on Wed 7th Oct is fully booked with a wait list of many disappointed people. I swore I would not be running any more bone broth classes this year and I’ve already broken my promise once and looks like I’m a big fat liar and I will probably be breaking my promise again because I hate disappointing people. So stay tuned for another one in November. 

Who doesn’t love pizza? For many of us who have eschewed gluten or grains in general or totality in the journey of moving towards a more ancestral or paleo or traditional wholefoods diet, this has meant giving up the much beloved pizza. Not anymore. Pure Paleo makes a totally grain-free, soy-free, sugar-free, crap-free Organic Paleo Wrap which can be used as a pizza base. Made with only 5 ingredients: certified organic coconut flour, tapioca flour, coconut oil, water and unrefined salt.

Here’s a simple and fun dinner you can make with the kids. Big kids too!

Ingredients:

1. Gluten-free pizza base (eg Organic Paleo Wraps by Pure Paleo). 
2. Tomato paste (I like the Global Organics brand)

Suggested toppings

·       Ham
·       Prosciutto
·       Anchovies
·       Zucchini, thinly sliced (eg with vegetable peeler)
·       Red and or green capsicum, thinly sliced
·       Pineapple, chopped
·       Mushrooms, sliced
·       Mozzarella cheese, grated
·       Fresh or dried herbs such as basil, oregano,

Directions:

Place each base on a baking tray. Spread with a thin layer of tomato paste. Add desired toppings and finish with grated mozzarella cheese. Season with herbs of choice and cracked pepper (the cheese is typically salty enough to not warrant adding extra salt especially if you have included anchovies).

Bake at 150 degrees for 20 minutes or until toppings are cooked and cheese has melted. Cut with pizza cutter then transfer to a plate.

I set out all the toppings in little bowls and get the kids to build their own pizzas by selecting their own toppings. They have so much fun doing this. Serve with a big green salad, and a cup of broth of course :-) 

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Ok, so the Paleo Wraps don’t taste as amazing as a gluten-based pizza but I was really surprised at how delicious it was and the kids demolished it.  If you are after a traditional pizza I highly recommend Pompei in Bondi which is the only pizzeria I know of in Sydney (possibly Australia?) that makes pizzas bases from organic sourdough (no yeast) with a sourdough starter that is proven for 36 hours. They use only olive oil as opposed to industrial seed oils (like canola or vegetable oils) and their vegetables and dairy are organic. Artisanal pizza made on the premises. No wonder they have been voted the best pizza in Sydney. So IF you are going to eat pizza out, then this is the place to go. They also make a gluten-free pizza with sorghum, rice flour and millet flour (with no soy flour). To read why soy flour is so bad, read my earlier blog here. Pompei also serves traditional Italian fare like meat and vegetables so there are plenty of non-pizza options for those wanting or needing to avoid grains altogether. Their gelato is to die for and also made on the premises.  George and Aidsa Pompei are as passionate about food as I am and do not compromise on quality. So nice to know that places like this exist!

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Note: I do not receive any commissions or kick backs from any businesses. I simply promote products that I personally use and love or businesses who have the same or similar ethos to mine.