Trucky and Rocky, Chill Bar, Avalon
Trucky: “I like the close-knit community [of Avalon]. Avalon’s easy and safe for the kids, and you’ve got the beach and all the sport. And I like Rocky. He makes the best coffee in Avalon.”
Rocky: “I’ve been at Chill Bar for 13 years. We’ve got a really good team here. Obviously the cornerstone of the business is the homemade gelato, right? But we’ve also got a healthy coffee following. We try to do our best; it’s a team effort.”
Instagram: @chillbaravalon
74 Old Barrenjoey Rd, Avalon NSW 2107
Shane Clinton and Jean Marc, Chill Bar
Shane: “It’s a great place to bring up kids and grandkids: people are friendly, weather is good, great coffee shops, good restaurants — why wouldn’t you want to be here? We come here every Friday and sit down and watch the world go past. It’s a little bit of Europe in Avalon. I’ve lived down here a long time; my kids were born here and now I’ve got grandkids who were born here. It’s a good environment to stay healthy in: sunshine, beach, waves.”
Jean Marc: “I moved all the way from France — I’m from Corsica, which is a nice place — and the condition was we move to Australia but it has to be Avalon! My wife is Australian and grew up in Avalon, so it had to be Avalon. I have been here 24 years. I’ve got the same lifestyle I would have if I was 17, which is pretty good; we ride our bikes to the shops, to wherever we want to go. We invented the ‘work from home’ so we could spend more time on raising our kids.”
Max, Oceana Traders, Avalon NSW 2107
“The philosophy behind Oceana Traders is that we don’t use frozen and we don’t pre-cook stuff: we cook everything fresh out of the display window. So what you see is what you get. We also do our chips handmade and in-shop; we get the potatoes, we peel them, we cut them, par blanch them and then we flash fry them — the original fish and chips. How we started, we had had five things on the menu, and we started using fresh Australian flathead for our fish and chips — and we still do. We believe in the product and the taste. But we also have NZ hoki and barramundi options. The battered flathead is delicious but I’m a big grilled fan — I love grilled fish! I love lemon, a good condiment and a good sauce. We’re open seven days.”
Instagram: @oceana_traders
www.oceanatraders.com.au
Alfonse, La Banette Avalon NSW 2107
“Avalon itself is a very special place. I think to have role in the community is very important; I think my uncle Vince has done a great job in providing support for the community in terms of the food that we produce. I’m a big bread man and it’s just wonderful to see the passion that gets poured into each and every product in the store. The due diligence that Vince puts in to ensure the quality is 100 percent in each product is very inspiring. He has years of experience and for him to be self taught, I think is a special type of passion that not many people have. It’s quite common for the people of Avalon to come in and tell us the aroma of the bread wafting down the street has brought them in.”
02-9918 2948
Instagram: @labanette_
26 Avalon Parade Avalon Beach NSW 2107
Shane Clinton, Forbes Global Properties
“I think life’s always a journey from the day you start; you’re always learning things. If you’re not learning things you’re going backwards. The world is changing and you’ve just got to keep adapting: adapt or die. I like property and it’s an Australian pastime. It’s going through some tough times at the moment but the long-term trend is up, so, you know, these are the dips you’ve got to survive. Property is financial security; it’s the biggest asset people have. I don’t think you’ll find a job you like if you’re just pursuing it for an income alone; I think you’ve got to have a passion. I originally came out of fund management [of people’s retirement money]. When you move out of that area, property is the next biggest asset for just about every Mum and Dad in Australia. It’s a great market to be in and you meet a lot of interesting people; people who are selling for different reasons, so if you can steer them along the right way, give them the right advice, it’s a very satisfying thing to do.”
Instagram: @shaneclinton.realestate
Daniel, Bonfire Bread Sustainable and Organic, Avalon
“We use sustainable ingredients; certified organic ingredients in our bread. All of our sourdough is certified and we use organic ingredients in our cakes as well. We have a broad range of bread, from the traditional breads all the way through to the sourdoughs. We also do sourdough baguettes. My dad [a qualified baker] opened up the store at the end of 2019, just before lockdown, and since then we’ve been slowly growing. The 48-hour bread is very popular but it’s actually an accident. My dad accidentally fermented it for too long, and my mum said to just put it in the oven and see how it goes, and he did and a whole new loaf was created. I love Avalon. It’s a very relaxing environment; it’s got that beachy vibe and the people are very welcoming and very supportive.”
Ph 8926 1955
www.bonfirebread.com.au
68 Old Barrenjoey Rd, Avalon NSW 2107
Verena, Love Food Kitchen, Avalon NSW 2107
“My sister, Angelique, and I love food, and we come from a Greek-Czech family that loved food. My mum is obviously the Greek in the family; there was a lot of food and a lot of love around the table, and that’s why we went down this path. My sister’s a nutritionist; I’m the cook. We’ve got gluten-free and sugar-free food but it doesn’t lack in flavour — it’s nutritious and delicious!”
“I love the village of Avalon. Ironically, the reason we got here was when my father had passed away my mum was looking for somewhere else to live. We’re from Adelaide originally. Mum was on the Menindee Lakes and Yiayia and Pappous used to trade with the local Aboriginals for fish, and then he set up a fish and chip restaurant. We found our love for cooking through our family.”
“Then my sister and I started doing healthier food. Mum would probably criticize how much olive oil we put in the dish but we put in half as much but with just as much flavour: a pinch of salt, pepper and lemon and it’s delicious. And always herbs. Three herbs in every dish.”
Instagram: @lovefoodco
https://www.lovefood.co/
Jimmy, Nourished Wholefood Cafe, Avalon
“My daughters brought me to Avalon; their school does surfing here and they said ‘Dad, it would be nice to have something near the beaches’ and this [shop] popped up so that was it. And it’s the only one we’ve kept so long, because my daughters wanted it. I actually love it here: the weather, the water, the greenery, and the people are unbelievable. I was telling my wife the other day, I’ve learnt more here than I’ve learnt anywhere else I’ve been. It’s just amazing. It’s comforting and welcoming. We’re open seven days, we serve breakfast and lunch, and our coffee is Ministry of Coffee. We try and practice a paleo-style menu; we try and do single items, not processed items, from raw. We have a farm in Bowral and all of our eggs comes from the farm; they’re 100% organic. Our lamb is mostly from our farm; the beef is from a neighbouring farm of a mate, and it’s grass-fed and no antibiotics. Our tomatoes and chilli all come from the farm, so too our herbs. We’ve got cottages on our farm and we’ve had about 30 or 40 families from Avalon go and stay there — and they love it! They get to see where it all comes from.”
Ph 02 9973 3233
17 Avalon Pde Avalon NSW 2107
Rahul Awaken Cafe, Avalon
“I like serving people my food. They eat it and it’s amazing; it’s giving them the taste and the richness of the flavours. I was born in India, raised in New Zealand and I’m here! Being a chef is a responsibility of putting all things together, and I think that’s a very big word, because you’re living up to that responsibility every day. You start first thing in the morning and you’re responsible for your kitchen, for your staff, for your people and the customers — it’s a big job. All ingredients play a vital role in the kitchen; you can’t pick and choose. They all come together, and that’s something I always say about cultures: all the cultures come together and make a beautiful world. And it’s the same with the kitchen. I don’t think food should be bland and boring, and neither should life be. I like to say, ‘if your stomach is full and it’s happy, you’re happy. Your day is going to be beautiful’. We’re open seven days a week and we’re licensed.”
Instagram: @awakennavalon
23 Avalon Pde, Avalon NSW 2107
Rafi, D Flames Kebab, Avalon
“We’ve got kebabs, burgers, gozleme, and wraps. We’ve got our own special sauce, called D Flames Sauce, and it’s kind of like peri peri mayo mixed with chipotle mayo. It’s a fabulous sauce we make ourselves. We have keto boxes which are like a salad bowl with some meat in it; it’s very nice with the salad dressing we make ourselves, as well. We also have baklava and other sweets. We’ve been open for over a year and people have been kind and supportive; people said they’ve needed a kebab shop in Avalon for a long time. We’re open seven days a week and till late at night.”
Shop 1/27 Old Barrenjoey Rd Avalon NSW 2107
