Tag Archives: adelaide cafe

My daughter is starting school next week and I’m excited and a little melancholy.

On one hand, she is completely ready for school – she craves stimulation and learning and she’s happy because she has a bunch of pals from kindergarten starting with her. On the other hand, it’s a milestone for her, the first independent step in a journey that may one day take her far away from us.

So my daughter going to school represents a big change for us.

I’d deliberately kept one day free this week so that we could do something together just as a family. I asked Ms 5 Year Old what she wanted to do and she replied without hesitation: “go to Henley Beach and ride bikes and get baby cinos and ice creams.”

Continue reading →

Situated on Jetty Street in Grange, The Cooks Pantry is one of those rare neighbourhood cafes that is everything a good local hangout should be.

Everything has been thoughtfully put together here. From the stylish and practical outdoor seating to the range of mouth-watering take home gourmet food on offer, The Cooks Pantry has clearly been a labour of love for owner James Bodroghy. A professional chef who has opened and run a number of Adelaide restaurants (Henley on Sea, Sixty Six in, Mesa Lunga, Salt and Esca), Bodhroghy opened The Cooks Pantry around three years ago so he could better balance his family and work.

The Cooks Pantry offers a range of light meals including foccacias, omelettes, salads, tarts and cakes.

The Cooks Pantry also sells a range of gourmet take home dinners for those who like to eat well but are pressed for time.

Bodhroghy’s passion for using local produce, organic products and quality ingredients is clearly evident. The Cooks Pantry stocks their own range of relishes, pickles and sauces, as well as a selection of cheeses, Paris Creek dairy products and seasonal organic fruit and vegetables.

I seem to have developed a semi-serious chai latte addiction so ordered two for my husband and I and baby cinos for the kids. The chai latte was so dark it resembled hot chocolate and was the best I’ve had in a a long time. To make it, The Cooks Pantry mixes warm milk with 3 teaspoons of David Rio’s dairy-free Power Chai, made from a combination of evaporated cane juice, tea, cinnamon, clove, ginger, cardamom, and salt. Power Chai is available from Rio Coffee in Stepney.

The kids enjoyed their baby cinos, but then, they always do.

Proving that multi-taskers do it all at once, The Cooks Pantry also runs cooking classes and offers catering services for private functions.

All in all, I liked The Cooks Pantry very much. Check it out.

The Cooks Pantry
6 Jetty Road, Grange, South Australia
Tel: 08 8353 3626
Email: food@thecookspantry.com.au
Opening Hours: Monday – 9am to 4.00pm; Tuesday to Friday – 9am to 6.30pm; Saturday – 8am to 4pm.

Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside. Oh, I do like to be beside the sea.

Except when it’s freezing and blowing a minor gale. Unfortunately, yesterday was such a day.

I’d been misled by the bright Spring sunshine into thinking it would be a great idea to take the kids riding their bikes along the Semaphore promenade. However, when we got there, the sun snuck behind a massive cloud bank and refused to come out. Instantly, any warmth disappeared.

Then my kids spotted the playground on the foreshore of Semaphore beach. So we spent 10 minutes shivering on the swings and turning blue on the slide before I shouted, “enough!” and carried my screaming toddler off the swing.

Holding my still protesting toddler in my arms, we left the playground on foot and set off in search of warmth and shelter. Luckily, we weren’t far from Whipped on Semaphore Road.

Continue reading →