Meet the café promoting organic living, eating quality and sourcing locally. Pigeon Hole café in West Hobart is the ultimate community essential. Delivering fresh, organic and seasonal produce every day direct from a local, family owned farm. It’s impossible not to feel good after an experience here.
The Challenge with Organic
I’m pretty big on looking after ourselves through the foods we eat and prioritising organic so, bare with me while I spiel about the woes of today.
If restaurants marketed their food like; “Potatoes seasoned with pesticides” or “spinach on a bed of synthetic chemicals”, you’d probably never eat out again. Although ignorance is bliss, I’m sorry to tell you that most of what you eat today falls under a laundry list of grimace-inducing conditions. They’re either Genetically modified, pumped with hormones, lacking nutrients from over-worked land or coated in pesticides and other chemicals.
Unfortunately, escaping this is not so simple. Chemicals used to grow all the fruits and vegetables we buy every week are generally very hydrophobic. Which means that rinsing them under some water before we eat them like our mothers told us, does pretty much nothing. You’ll need some special soaps or an expensive electrolysis machine to turn your water alkaline. Neither of these options are ideal which really only leaves us with one choice – Buy local and organic.
These days, it is hard to find food that is truly organic, food that isn’t tarnished with chemicals for mass production. Shopping at the supermarket can feel like dodging a mine field and when eating out, we have even less control. But fear not friends, introducing Pigeon Hole café! Not to be confused with Pigeon Whole bakers, Pigeon Hole café is an institution in it’s own right. Set up as the interface between the community and a local family-owned farm it showcases their organic, seasonal produce in true ‘paddock to plate’ style.
Connect with the Land at Pigeon Hole
Pigeon Hole Café is on the frontlines for organic living, providing the community with a portal to a local family-owned farm. The café is owned by Weston farm who uses it as a platform to present their sustainable and seasonal produce in the form of delectable dishes. The food at Pigeon Hole is grown organically and delivered daily from the farm. This makes for high quality food that you can feel good about enjoying….I know I do.
Pigeon Hole is a small and cosy café built in the community, for the community. It is no surprise the seating is designed to bring people together. Indoors, there are a few 2-seater tables but otherwise, it is bench seating-a-plenty, in true communal fashion. Nestled in the innermost nook of the cafe is a wall adorned with recipe books, flowers, wooden knick-knacks and jarred preserves. I love cafés that have that authentic, rustic vibe and Pigeon Hole definitely provides this high-quality comfort. The music played also adds to the ambience. Soft jazzy tunes that embraced me in a happy relaxation.
Make Pigeon Hole the Brunch spot for your big day out in Hobart.
Cultivating Creativity: How their Chefs get Inspired
In addition to providing a direct link to the land as an extension of Weston Farm, I learned the cafe has another reason for being special. The chefs working at Pigeon Hole are on a rotational program where they are given a unique opportunity to connect with nature. In this program they actively engage with the land, partake in farm activities, and forge a strong connection to the ingredients they use.
Evidently, through understanding the seasons and garnering an appreciation for the land, they are inspired to create unique and delicious dishes. On the menu, you’ll notice that the farms produce (highlighted in green) sits center-stage as the star ingredient of every specifically created recipe.
If you’re coming to this café, I recommend trying something from their specials board which rotates according to what’s in season. I tried their Pommes Anna with a three-cheese sauce, layered potatoes marinated in pesto oil and garlic and swimming in a creamy, cheesy sauce. Their kransky, saurkraut and fresh greens brioche is also very popular. Off the menu, the piadina flatbread with mushrooms, halloumi and tomatillo salsa is another recommendation.
They’ve got beautiful cakes and fresh breads at the counter that are always impossible to go past. And I can definitely give my tick of approval to their coffee. Especially as an alternative milk drinker, it satisfied my coffee cravings.
Nurturing the Earth: How Pigeon Hole Practices Sustainability.
The farm gives to Pigeon Hole and Pigeon Hole gives back to the farm with their closed-loop waste management system. All organic waste at the cafe is returned to the farm for composting to reduce their contribution to landfill and to nourish the soil from which it all came. Other food scraps are fed to Rosie and Lola, the farms’ porcine residents making it a complete family affair.
In giving back to the earth, Pigeon Hole also gives back to the community. Feed your soul and your belly with the organic goodness served up at this adorable cafe.
When you give Pigeon Hole a try, share your thoughts with me via email or on Insta, I’d love to hear from you!
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