One of the South Coast's favourite chefs has decided to do things a little differently.
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Kelly Eastwood of Eastwood's in Bermagui has moved online and is operating as a "heat and eat" meal delivery business, from Pambula to Batemans Bay.
Before the pandemic, Eastwood's in Bermagui was a friendly foodie hub, delicatessen, cooking school and cafe. But, when doors closed during lockdown, Ms Eastwood decided to rethink her business and branch out.
"I sat back at first and watched what everyone else was doing and then I started the meal deliveries," she said.
Ms Eastwood said the seasonality of the town was very challenging to navigate as a hospitality business owner, and she always wanted to branch out beyond Bermagui.
"I was trying to find something niche that could go all year round and not be seasonal," she said.
She began emailing her menu to clientele from River Cottage and Eastwood's who were engaged through her food blog. Things kicked off and her team worked like crazy to keep up with the orders.
However, Ms Eastwood needed a better online system to streamline business and keep up with the demand.
She discovered an online business management platform named, Cookaborough.
When lockdown first kicked off, I lost my whole team, but one ...
- Kelly Eastwood
Cookaborough helps Ms Eastwood connect with customers, curate weekly menus, receive and manage orders and administrative tasks, such as: storing recipes, scheduling weekly menus, setting delivery zones, creating food labels and financial reports.
Ms Eastwood was initially sceptical, wondering if her database of recipes would be leaked.
"But it has been awesome," she said.
Since her partnership with Cookaborough, Ms Eastwood's business has gone full-steam ahead.
"You feel like you have a lot of control on your business," she said.
Beforehand, Ms Eastwood said running a cafe was like a "guessing game".
Being in a seasonal town, she said it was challenging to cost recipes, buy stock and predict wages each week.
"It's so important to cost your recipes when you are setting up a business - for some reason you end up guessing it because you are so busy doing other things," she said.
"I found that hard to do myself, so right from the start it has been a great platform because it forces you to cost each dish."
Since moving business online, Ms Eastwood has been able to plan her week without any surprises.
"Business has been roaring since we started," she said.
Her menu is released each Friday, then the team gets to work and cooks up a storm in time to pack for dispatch the following Friday.
Having a background as a private chef and television food producer, Ms Eastwood loves the challenge of creating something new each week.
"It suits me perfectly," she said.
"I love trying different flavours. I didn't enjoy being a cafe owner because I wasn't passionate about cooking the same food every day."
In the beginning, she had about 14 deliveries each week. Since operating with Cookaborough, there's up to 140 deliveries each week. She has also hired more staff.
"When lockdown first kicked off, I lost my whole team, but one," she said.
"With Cookaborough, I have managed to employ more people. There's about 10 of us now."
She said more NDIS and come care plan customers were also jumping on board, opting for her meals.
"They can get up to 70 per cent off," she said.
Ms Eastwood was planning to branch out further, delivering to Eden, and eventually Canberra.
She was also looking at ways to cater for tourists.
"If they can order ahead of time and arrive at their holiday destination when restaurants are closed ... they will have a beautiful meal in the fridge ready to heat up," she said.
"It's another option ... because you can only eat so many pizzas, burgers and fish and chips."
Visit Ms Eastwood's website for more, www.eastwoodsbermagui.com.au
For more information on Cookaborough, CLICK HERE.
