by Jasmine Healy-Pagan, Sundalah

I met up with Kelly Bolger in her fresh new cafe in Hermit Park, called Kell’s Kitchen and Brew Bar, to learn a little about how this new venture came about.

What made you decide to open Kell’s Kitchen and Brew Bar?

I’ve worked in many places over the years from large corporate (TV Industry), government (IT Industry) to small business (Manager) both local and overseas and never really felt satisfied that I had found my passion, so I decided to turn my love for cooking and coffee into my daytime job. I wanted to create a place where people felt like they were relaxing in my kitchen, hence the name and feel of my cafe.

Why do you love to cook?

Cooking is how I relax. I’ve always loved cooking. I mostly taught myself to cook from a young age. I love experimenting with food and cooking also allows me to be creative.

Tell me more about your “Brew Bar”

I love a good brew, whether it be a cuppa tea/coffee or some healthy fermented foods and the idea of mixing it up and having no limits to what I can create appealed to me. I am fascinated by the science behind what makes a great coffee including cold brew, filter (pour-over) and espresso and love sharing my experience and tastings. Some of my offerings include lavender lemonade, cold brew lemonade, kombucha, turmeric latte and matcha latte, all lovingly made on-site.

What do you love most about your new venture as a cafe owner and creative cook?

I love providing people with a comfortable space where they can relax and enjoy home cooked, soul nourishing food. I enjoy all kinds of prepared foods from raw, paleo and low sugar recipes; but I also love cooking comfort foods like carrot cake, decadent patty cakes and caramel tarts! I keep the kitchen low gluten and use a lot of spelt or gluten free ingredients as well as coconut sugar and raw honey. I try to have something on the menu for everyone and if I don’t, please let me know so I can have fun creating something new!