Two Mosgiel mums have joined forces to make their food dreams come true. Rebecca Fox talks to the pair about their new venture.

Paper plates, takeaway cups, outdoor furniture and good food.

They are not mutually exclusive when running a cafe, as Kate Woodhouse and Kelly Ennis are proving, going by the queues at their Mosgiel business.

The pair met while doing the requisite parents' duty - selling raffles at the local supermarket - and during their stint discovered a lot in common other than being parents of young children, including a mutual love of baking.

The homemade pies made with locally grown ingredients are popular. Photo: Christine O'Connor

So they started making specialty cakes to order and soon realised they would love to open their own business together.

Kelly has the business expertise - a former Restaurants Brand and security company manager - while Kate has the cooking experience - as an Otago Polytechnic-trained chef who worked at Dunedin's High Tide before working in Australia and England.

"We're a good team,'' Kelly said.

When they discovered the former dairy on Gordon Rd they knew it would be right for them. They just had to convince the real estate agent and its owner to take a chance on them.

With very little seed money, they came up with a plan: if they rented out the premises above the shop it would fund the rent. Their offer was accepted.

With under $5000 in the bank, they bought paint to freshen up the interior, and repurposed what furniture they could find, including turning the old cigarette storage cabinet into a display cabinet.

Given they had four children under 6 years old, their idea was to open one day a week - Friday - selling home-made baked goods, pastries and pies.

"It all sold out by 11 o'clock on our first day.''

Just six months later they decided to open on Wednesdays and Thursdays, offering coffee and scones and muffins. It worked so well they now open from Wednesday to Saturday offering their full range of goods.

They put their popularity down to making things from scratch with good-quality local ingredients and suppliers.

"It's been exciting and terrifying,'' Kate said. "We've been so well accepted by Mosgiel it's motivated us to keep going.''

As they go, they try out new things such as takeaway dessert pots and Friday night takeaway dinner options aimed at busy working parents or even couples looking for some home cooking.

"I like to mix it up. It depends what I feel like doing on a day,'' Kate said.

While a trained chef, she was a self-taught baker.

"I really enjoy creating from scratch. It's exciting, although it can be hard to reach the consistency I want. I'm a bit of a perfectionist.''

For Kelly, who does most of the front-of-house work, the focus was on the customers, ensuring they were happy and served well.

"I really enjoy making coffee and getting to know the regulars.''

They have now hired some extra staff and are training them to have the same high standards.

The pair enjoy the flexibility of working with someone who had similar ideas and responsibilities around family.

As they were building up the business from the ground, furniture had been what they could find secondhand or repurposed, hence the outdoor furniture.

"People seem to have embraced the outdoor furniture and paper plates.''

The new venture did mean longer hours at work but both really enjoyed what they were doing.

"This year we are building up our catering. We've got the shop on longer hours and the specialty cakes, so there is a lot going on.''

With the support of their husbands and family, they have been able to juggle the new endeavour with the school run and being home to cook tea for their families.

"It's been really full-on. We have two very understanding hubbies.''

Kate was born and bred in Mosgiel and returned home to bring up her family, while Kelly, who was brought up in Dunedin, was a Christchurch earthquake refugee.

Both were stay-at-home mums, doing a little work on the side, when they met and were keen to contribute to the family financially and use their skills.

"I've never looked back,'' said Kelly.

Pulled pork sandwich. Photo by Linda Robertson.

Ingredients

BBQ Sauce

1 onion

6 cloves garlic

1 red chilli

2 Tbsp fresh thyme

2 Tbsp fresh rosemary

2 Tbsp fresh coriander

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp smoked paprika

200ml homemade

Wooden Table tomato sauce (other tomato sauce can be substituted)

200ml water

200ml apple juice

zest and juice of two oranges

2 tsp Dijon mustard

salt

pepper

6 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

oil

Aioli

4 egg yolks

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

600ml canola or light olive oil

25ml white wine vinegar

6 cloves roasted garlic

1 lemon (juice only)

salt

pepper

Apple slaw

¼ cup red cabbage

¼ cup green cabbage

2 Granny Smith apples

1 carrot

1 red onion

2 Tbsp mint

2 Tbsp coriander

2 Tbsp flat leaf parsley

Slow-cooked pork

1kg pork shoulder

2 Tbsp smoked paprika

olive oil

Method

BBQ sauce

Dice the onion, garlic and chilli and cook with a little oil in a pot on a low heat until transparent.

Add the cumin seeds, paprika, sauce, juices, water, balsamic vinegar, mustard, chopped fresh herbs. Cook on a low heat for 15-20 minutes.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Allow the sauce to cool and then blend in upright blender until smooth.

Aioli

Roast the garlic in the oven in foil until softened and then allow to cool before making the aioli.

Put the egg yolks and mustard into the blender/food processor and whizz with the vinegar.

Add the garlic cloves and continue to whizz until it is all combined and the eggs are pale and thickened.

Slowly drizzle in the oil, if it gets too thick add 1-2 Tbsp of water.

Once all the oil is added blend in the lemon juice, and add salt and pepper to taste.

Apple slaw

Finely slice the red and green cabbage and red onion.

Grate the apple and squeeze out excess juice.

Finely chop the fresh herbs.

Peel the carrot into strips.

Mix all of the ingredients together and dress with the aioli.

Slow-cooked pork

Rub the smoked paprika into the pork shoulder and drizzle over the olive oil. Place into a slow cooker and cook for 4-6 hours or until the pork is tender and falling apart.

Shred the pork with two forks.

To assemble

Mix the pork with some of the BBQ sauce and then layer into the bread roll. Next add a layer of the apple slaw.



