Adventures as a Grown Up

Bakery/ Cafe Advice from the Middle of Nowhere

Thursday was my day off around the retreat center. I did my yoga in the morning with Ostii and go things together to make a vegan carrot cake. And in the arvo (afternoon) I was craving more than eggless bread, tofu, whole grain and veggies! Now, I like all of these foods but it’s been a week and all I wanted was a coffee with real milk and something with meat in it! (ok, I was craving Hawaiian pizza and chicken pad see ewe… But those could wait).

So… What did I do? Well I ventured into town. Hepburn Springs is significantly smaller than Daylesford but it’s only a 15 minute hike away. They have a post office, 4 cafes, a general store (seriously- Hepburn general store) and a pub.

My excuse to scope out where I would sneak my treat was that I needed to mail some things off and needed a notebook (that cost 2.50$! For a stinking spiral bound notebook!

Anyway. When I was done with the grown up part of the adventure, I happily strolled along main street admiring the blue and red balloons that now lined the 4 blocks of “town”.

I found out later the red and blue was to support the local favorite “footy” team.

I chose to stop for a coffee at The Chowder House! It’s run by Shane and his partner. As I walked in they were doing a bit of quizzy (trivia) so I joined right in. I only got 4 or 5 answer but they were so friendly it didn’t matter.

As I broke my vegan streak with a cappuccino and a bowl of seafood chowder, Shane and I got to talking. He is a graduate of the Culinary Institute in Rhode Island! He grew up there with his father. When he moved to Melbourne (where his mother lives) he opened a small cafe where he and John worked for a while. Then they moved out to Hepburn where they are now!

Shane was so excited about my baking and fairy cakes (cupcakes) that he couldn’t contain himself! I just sat and listened to him talk as I slowly savored every bite of my seafood. Salmon, shrimp, white fish, muscles… I had it all! But I was more interested in Shane’s advice.

Ultimately, his biggest thing was to start small. There is no need to but a big shop with dance mixers and what not!

That afternoon I took my expensive notebook and started my business plan.