andastheworldhascommercialised,morefranchises
havetakenover.Inmyopiniontheydon’tprovide
nutrition,theydotheexactopposite.”
Thisback-to-basicsapproachhasproven
successfulforEadie,whoopenedhisfirstbakery
inBrookvale’sindustrialareain2016.Butit is
somethinghehasdevelopedthroughtrialanderror.
“Ithasbeena journey,”hesays.“WhenI started
Berkelo,I didn’tevenwanttohavea coffeemachine,
I justwantedtosella coupleofloavesofbread.
I quicklyworkedoutthatit wasn’ta goodbusiness
idea;it wasn’tsustainable.
“IbelievenowthatI’mcookingforpeople,not
formyself.It’snotthatfunspendingthreedays
makingrabbitpiesandnooneeatsthembecause
they’rescaredofrabbit.That’sthekindofstuff
weweredoingoriginally.I’vehadtolearntolose
mychefego.It tookustwoyearstoputa hamand
cheesesandwichonthemenu– everyoneloves
a hamandcheesesandwich!”
Butit’stheeffortthatgoesintoBerkelo’s
simplehamandcheesesandwichthatsetsit apart.
“It’saboutfindingthepersonwhomakesand
caresaboutthecheddar,versusthepersonwho
doesn’tcareaboutthecheddar,”saysEadie.“And
whenyoubringthosethreethingstogetherthat
aremadewithcare– theham,thecheese,the
bread– it’sa fuckinggoodtime.”
Thebreadhe’sreferringtois a flavour-packed
slow-fermentedsourdough,whichis madefrom
grainsmilledon-siteinanAustrianstonemill.
“Oneofthemainreasonswehavethemillin
thebakeryis sothatwecanusethewholegrain,
thereforeyougetallthenutrition.If yourespectthe
process,breadcanbea healthfood,too.
“Thisyear,ourgoalis toeventuallybeusing
single-origingrains,justasyouwouldseeincoffee.
We’dliketofeaturea differentgrainfroma different
partofAustraliaanddifferentfarmereverymonth.
Thenwecanbuildourownflavourprofilesand
knowledge around the grains. There’s a lot to learn.”Inadditiontomakingsourdoughpasta,
kombuchaandpickledandfermentedvegetables
tosellinstore,Eadie’scurrentprojectis growing
herbsandplantsonthefarmtomaketea.
“We’restilltriallingdifferentthings,butinthe
groundat themomentthereareninetypesoflettuce,
there’splentyofcabbage,there’sleeks,fennel,some
Asiangreens,rosellaflowers,ginger,radish...”hesays.
“We’vealsorecentlyplantedaround 50 nativetrees
atthebottomoftheproperty– mostlyfruittrees
andplantslikerivermintandlemonmyrtle.I’m
lookingforwardtoexperimentingwiththosetoo.”
Although,Eadiehasn’tbeenspendingasmuch
timeatthefarmashe’dlike.Constructiononthe
fourthbakeryinManlywascompletedonlya few
weeksago.Thenewhole-in-the-walldesignfurther
consolidatesEadie’scorner-storeconcept,and
encourageslocalstoswingbyandgraba loafof
sourdough,a boxoffreshproduceanda cupof
batch-brewSingleOcoffeestraightfromthetap.
“Sincecoronaviruswe’velostalmost 40
wholesalecustomers,buttheretailsideofthe
businesshasbeenpumping,becausepeoplewant
simplefood;theywanttopickupa loafofbread
totakehome,”hesays.
Nourishinga communityis Eadie’sdrivingforce
andhisproudestachievement.“Itmakesmefeel
warm.Thesatisfactionyougetfromcookingsomeone
a goodmeal,andtheexchangeyougetinreturnis
a smile,that’swhatyouloveasa chef.
“I justlovefood.I lovecookingpeoplefood,now
it’sabouttakingit tothenextstageforme– if you
cancookandgrowit’stwiceasgood.”
Absolutelynothinggoestowasteeither.Allfood
scrapscollectedfromthebakeriesaresentbacktothe
farmtwicea weektobecomposted– a coupleofold
bathsthatsitofftoonesideofthefieldarefilled
withworms.Thecompostis thenusedtoreinvigorate
thesoilandtheprocessstartsalloveragain.
Andasforpestcontrol,it’sallorganic.“Weuse
limetokeepaphidsaway.Wedon’tdomuchweeding
either,wekindofjustletthatstuffgo,butthenets
helptokeepbugsandlittlebutterfliesofftheplants.”
Eadie’sforward-thinkingmindsetanddrive
tochampiona simplerlifestyle,especiallyduring
challengingtimes,areimportantingredientstohis
success.Buthe’snotdoneyet,withevenbiggerplans
instoreforthefutureofBerkelo.
“Iwanttomakesurethatourqualitykeeps
improving.Weneedtoconstantlyreassessour
productstoensurethey’rebetterandbecomeeven
moresustainable,”hesays.
“AtsomestageI thinkwe’llallhavetoslow
downandsimplifyourlives.I think it’s necessary
fortheworldaswell.”
berkelo.com.au; @berkelo.au●“We needtofocusmore on
community andgoback to
the thingsthatwe’ve moved
awayfrom,whichhavebeen
partofhuman civilisation
for thousands of years.”50 GOURMET TRAVELLER