Tuesday 25 February 2014

Kinfolk: A Cafe with a Conscience

Everybody gets it - that warm fuzzy feeling inside when you have the very first sip of your latte in the morning. As you wrap your hands around your warm, comforting glass you can't help but get the sense that everything is right with the world. That everything is how it should be. At Melbourne CBD cafe Kinfolk, they're taking this feeling to a whole new level by donating 100 percent of its profits to four development projects, both in Australia and around the world. So as you take your first swig of daily caffeine you can be happy in the knowledge that you're giving back to a cause in need. 

Kinfolk was the first of its kind when it opened its doors in 2010, and has since paved the way for social enterprise in Melbourne. But don't be fooled into thinking that Kinfolk is anything less than a great city cafe. The volunteers run the joint like clockwork, serving a long black here and clarifying the blackboard-based menu there. Kinfolk has recently undergone a major renovation (made possible through Crowd Funding), allowing for more seating space and a commercial kitchen where the chefs churn out a new menu daily that features fresh, healthy and seasonal food. Every lunch menu will feature a soup, meat dish, fish dish, vegan-friendly dish, as well as a selection of side salads, baguettes and toasties. So whatever you're looking for, whether it be a take-away sanga as you rush between meetings or a leisurely sit-down lunch, there's something for everyone.



We were spoilt for choice when we arrived at the always bustling cafe, with a menu filled with so many deliciously appealing choices (why do cafes keep doing this to me...it makes my life so hard!). After much consideration I selected the pan fried ocean trout fillet with pea pureè and wild rice and broccolini salad. I gotta say, If I closed my eyes on the hippy-esqu, recycled interior of Kinfolk, I could have been eating in a good quality Melbourne restaurant. My trout was cooked to perfection, the purée added the perfect sweet note and the salad was texturally wonderful. To accompany this dish we ordered two side salads; the chickpea, roast pumpkin, rasin and pepita, and the Asian-inspired coleslaw with soy and sesame dressing. Both were fresh, delicious and made interesting with the addition of seeds and dried fruit. My Kinfolk companion selected the meat option, which was pork belly and pork terrine with morgrabieh and apple. There was a thick hunk of belly with impressively crispy crackling and smooth silky terrine, which got an added zing of crispness from the sweet apple.




Safe to say that Kinfolk generates a wonderful sense of good-will and hospitality. It is a warm, open and friendly space filled with people who just generally want to be there. Though they do all they can to support their development projects, they also aim to please you, the customer, by serving up delicious food in a healthy and very delicious way. Believe me when I say that giving back to the community never tasted so good!

1 comment:

  1. great… love this post!!! look like a nice place to dine!!!

    DinaBella
    http://dina-bella.blogspot.com/2014/02/body-shape-perfect-fit-diamond.html

    ReplyDelete