Sydney’s The Brunch lady is bringing healthy, affordable food to the East.
Twenty-four-year-old Natasha Pillion has launched her new business The Brunch Lady in Bondi Junction, in hopes of bringing nutritious, affordable food to the masses.
The trendy salad bar and takeaway shop has an all-female staff and specialises in affordable and wholesome breakfast choices, smoothies and salads that you can design from scratch.
“We don’t preach healthy here, the Brunch Lady is not about telling you to have kale, and be paleo and gluten free. It’s not about that. It’s about eating good food that tastes great and sure, if it’s got health benefits, that’s great, but we’re not forcing it down anyone’s throat.”
Pillion is passionate about having a seasonal menu that uses pesticide-free ingredients that are “natural from the ground” and sourced from local farms.
“The buzz words at the moment are organic, paleo, lactose-intolerant, gluten-free and I don’t like labels. I think that if we just eat real food and lots of it, that’s how we should’ve always been eating. You eat from the farm and you can have some meat as well. We love our vegans but I love my steak.”
A keen follower of food bloggers, Pillion also says a lot of her menu choices were inspired by some of Jessica Sepel’s recipes. Her vegan-friendly Buddha Bowl ($12.50) is nourishing, filling and above all, guilt-free because it uses fresh ingredients such as kale, falafels, hummus, quinoa, roasted pumpkin and black beans.
Her Almighty Acai smoothie ($10) is also a crowd-pleaser with its delicious and refreshing ingredients: frozen acai, banana, mixed berries, vanilla protein and coconut water.
The “clean” look of The Brunch Lady, with its minimalistic storefront, white tiles and marble, was inspired by the Swedish Instagram aesthetic and took 6 months to build.
As a young business owner, Pillion says it’s important not to compromise and to be firm with what you want.
“There will be the worst days but there has to be light at the end of the tunnel. And I think with young females in particular, it’s just learning not to give up.”
Pillion thinks hospitality “is a very male dominated industry” so it’s important to have “a woman’s touch” and an all-women staff who are “passionate about what they do”.
The Brunch Ladies are currently working on an American-inspired winter menu that we can’t wait to try. They are with Deliveroo and can be found on 74 Spring St, Bondi Junction.
