Natasha Pillion The Brunch Lady Interview

Natasha Pillion The Brunch Lady Interview

74 Springs Street's newest resident- The Brunch Lady has unpacked her lettuce leaves and moved into the heart of Bondi Junction.

Open Monday through to Saturday, 8am-4pm. The Brunch Lady is serving up something to tantalise everyone's taste buds. Each breakfast, salad and smoothie bar menu has been specifically designed to look good, taste great and fuel your true potential.

Owner and concept creator Natasha Pillion says, 'What initially started as just a salad bar, turned into a complete health concept for the time- poor."

By hand picking a niche in the market, Natasha saw an opportunity to provide individuals with nutrient dense food without compromising on taste or leaving customers dissatisfied. 'I really wanted to be a part of Sydney's incredible health revolution, however, I felt the takeaway market was still lacking".

Adorned with marble benchtops and clean white finishings, the space is inviting from the moment you step through the door. Glass encasings display the freshly prepared produce and a small dine in bar is situated in the corner- perfect for those who don't want to -Beet' it too soon.

The Brunch Lady's creations encompass health in a nutshell. Breakfast begins bright and early and the Avocado, Persian feta, chilli and truffle oil toast will have your taste buds dancing, as early as this, not to mention the acai bowl with a Brunch Lady twist- coconut water base, real amazonia acai, amazonia vegan vanilla protein, topped with caramelised buckwheat or their very own raw cacao granola. These not-so-guilty pleasures are bound to get your Instagram feed going.

If you're not a morning person, shake off the morning blues with a superfood smoothie. Coco pops are out and smoothies are in! This tastes -just like a Chocolate milkshake only healthy' blending together banana, raw cacao, almond milk and Amazonia vegan protein powder. Choose from a variety of smoothie options filled with nourishing superfood ingredients including; bee pollen, LSA, chia seeds and raw cacao, mixed together to make the perfect meal replacement.

To curb those mid-morning cravings opt for something a little more substantial like the bacon and egg sourdough stack, smeared with homemade chilli tomato chutney, or the Breakfast Salad; perfect for gym goers to grab after their morning workout. Roasted to perfection, accompany these options with a boutique brew of Little Marionette coffee.

11:30 am hits and so do those lunch time cravings, choose from The Brunch Lady's DESIGN-A-SALAD option, with over 39 different ingredients including; protein, complex carbs (brown rice or quinoa), a selection of cheeses and a rainbow of vegetables, tossed together with one of their signature homemade dressings (their signature Japanese sesame dressing has already proved to be a favourite among brunch goers). Unlike most eateries, The Brunch lady doesn't believe in charging extra for the coveted additions of eggs and avocado, add these to your salad free of charge.

Gone are the boring salad days, where ladies were one lettuce leaf away from their dream body. The Brunch Lady salads are far from mediocre, they guarantee no customer will walk away hungry... From the -Mary had a lotta lamb' which combines 12 hour slow cooked lamb with Goat's cheese, peas and mint, to The Brunch lady -Buddha bowl' packed with heavenly homemade oven baked falafels.

All bases are covered, packing punches with their Cinco de Chica: a healthy Mexican salad with a bit of spice and tortilla crunch or going the extra mile for the Mr Brunch Man; packed with lean protein, complex carbs and good fats. Great for the guys, gym lovers and anyone else who needs an extra mouthful of sustenance to fuel their day.

All salads are free of nasty preservatives and full of natural, homemade ingredients- which are subject to seasonal change and constantly evolving to ensure all Brunch Lady customers eat quality produce from local farms.

Combat 3 o'Clock-itis the right way with The Brunch Lady's freshly baked homemade treats. Prepared daily on the premises choose from a variety of delectable options; Giant berry, granola muffins, matcha cookies, beetroot brownies, pumpkin protein bars, sweet potato blondies. When you're feeling a little naughty fuel your body with something nice, these wholesome treats serve as the perfect afternoon or mid morning pick me up.

Pop in to meet Spring Street's newest little lady and -Lettuce feed you'.

Monday- Saturday 8am-4pm
Breakfast: 8-11am
Lunch from 11:30-3:30

*Smoothies and Coffee served all day
74 Spring St, Bondi Junction 2022

www.thebrunchlady.com.au
Facebook
@thebrunchlady

#thebrunchlady #lettucefeedyou #makefriendswithsalad

Interview with Natasha Pillion

Question: What inspired The Brunch Lady?

Natasha Pillion: A mixture of things. I really wanted to be a part of Sydney's health revolution. I'm a Pinterest and Instagram lover and would always see these incredible and healthy recipes but there wasn't a convenient and price affordable place to get them. I wanted to create a healthy takeaway haven for the time poor. Also, I saw similar ideas in LA and NY and just thought Sydney needed this.


Question: How would you describe The Brunch Lady?

Natasha Pillion: The Brunch Lady makes you fall in love with salad. With an all female staff, our focus is on friendly service, a beautiful environment and delicious and healthy food. The Brunch Lady is the cool mum in the kitchen. Big portions, packed with flavour that makes you forget you're eating your vegetables.


Question: What's your favourite item on the The Brunch Lady, menu?

Natasha Pillion: It would have to be the slow cooked pulled lamb salad. We only do limited portions a day (4kg) due to the small slow cooker but it is a real winner, particularly with salad skeptics. The greek style rub on the meat paired with the goats cheese and peas makes it a filling and flavoursome lunchtime option.


Question: Why was it important to create a menu made from local and farm sourced produce?

Natasha Pillion: I want people to eat the way our grandparents did. By the seasons and from farms not factories. Our vegetable suppliers only last week came to us and said the heavy rain and humid weather had effected their baby spinach crops. Now, we could have imported spinach from some distant place or simply swapped it for some rocket. I believe people should know where their food comes from. Our custom cabinet is constantly changing to match seasonal changes which makes eating interesting. Supporting local businesses rather than corporations is something I believe very strongly in. We're a small business, we should all support each other.


Question: How did you go about creating your menu?

Natasha Pillion: The menu took a full year to develop. It was a lot of trial and error and playing around in the kitchen. Ultimately it was about finding familiar flavours mixed with something unexpected. Eg. our Moodle or Grilled Beef and Soba Noodle Salad is packed with steamed edamame, soba noodles and our homemade Japanese sesame dressing. Noodles and lettuce might not seem conventional but it sure is yummy....and filling.


Question: What's a typical day like, for you at The Brunch Lady?

Natasha Pillion: I wake up at 5am and start the day off with a shot of apple cider vinegar.....not even coffee will wake you up like this
I usually pay invoices for half an hour and get to work at 6:30am
the mornings are spent cutting and prepping veggies as well as trialling new recipes with my chef. Today's creation was a raw cacao and orange brownie. We hate wastage so if we have anything leftover we try to repurpose it in a new way.
Our breakfast rush means I'm busy making smoothies or acai bowls ect.
The lunch rush is where we get really crazy and for 2 hours I run around like a headless chook just pumping out salads
In the afternoons I typically take time for meetings and emails, such as this one.
Then its closing up, researching menu ideas with my chef ( we're testing winter soups at the moment) and home to hopefully a home-cooked meal by my boyfriend and of course more emails and invoices. At this stage its 6 days a week, go go go....luckily I absolutely love it

Question: What's different about The Brunch Lady to other Sydney cafes?

Natasha Pillion: The Brunch Lady prides itself on making everything on site. Whether its our salad dressings, nut butters, meat marinades, vegan falafel balls or healthy treats our food is made with love and care and free from any nasty preservatives. By being takeaway we also eliminate the cafe wait time or pricetag. We are extremely price reasonable. A 'one size fits all tummies' salad is $12.50-$14.00.

Our signature design-a-salad allows the customer to choose exactly what they want. We also don't charge extra for yummy ingredients such as broccoli or avocado. Our slogan is boycotting extra for avocado


Question: Are you able to share a recipe with us?

Natasha Pillion: Homemade Lime Pesto Vinaigrette.
For a friendly at home version this yields enough for a dinner party salad.

Ingredients:
2 cups of baby spinach spinach 1/2 cup of chopped coriander
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
4 bulbs of crushed garlic
1 cup of exrta virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
the juice of 2 fresh limes and throw in the zest
generous pinch of salt and pepper


Question: What's next for The Brunch Lady?

Natasha Pillion: This store is my baby so at this point it needs a lot of love and attention. Ideally I would love to bottle some of my dressings and marinades and also focus on catering for offices and events. By next year I would love to secure Brunch Lady Number 2 and hopefully from there a few more will follow.....only time will tell at this stage. But hopefully we can have everyone falling in love with salad.


Interview by Brooke Hunter