Victoria Cosford
Juices and smoothies had always been a big part of Bronwyn Yeldham’s lifestyle. She’d go to her local market, pick up the produce and create her own, until, about three years ago, she decided to start selling them. ‘I saw a gap’, she tells me, ‘and the idea presented itself.’
Over time her little business has evolved to include cosy, nurturing breakfast bowls and porridges, perfect for the cooler weather. Bronwyn started experimenting with different mixes, ideas gleaned from her extensive travels, using grains like quinoa, oats, chia seeds, determined to keep it all plant-based. ‘I wanted it to be a little bit new’, she says, ‘but also traditional.’
Her background in cooking and hospitality saw her create beautiful gourmet toppings such as pears poached in chai spices, a compote of blueberries and orange, a lacing of maple syrup and tahini. On the first day she presented her porridge she felt plagued with doubts – ‘homely old porridge people can make at home!’ – but her instincts served her well as customers responded eagerly to the comforting, nourishing quality of the breakfast bowls. Most of the ingredients Bronwyn uses are organic and sourced from the market, and her colourful blackboard menu describes the content of her various offerings under whimsical names. Her cold-pressed juices (‘Easy Green’; ‘Visionary’; ‘Beetle Juice’) are packed with vitamin-filled fruit, vegetables and herbs, while the smoothies, called variously ‘Dragon Ball’, ‘A Date With A Nut’ and ‘Blueberry Burst’ are based on coconut milk, coconut water, oat milk and almond milk. And taste heavenly, far richer and lusher than you’d expect from all those worthy ingredients.
And while she has other breakfast bowl combinations in mind, Bronwyn is progressing cautiously. ‘It can be too much for one bowl’, she says – because, after all, often less is more!
Bronwyn’s Smoothies stall can be found every Tuesdays at the New Brighton Farmers Market from 8am-11am
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