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Mainstream New Zealand is waking up to vegetarian cooking. Exciting flavours, vibrant colours – food that is packed with antioxidant punch, minerals and vitamins.
Food Garden Vegetarian Café and Catering is Tauranga’s only vegetarian café. Established this year, it is attracting a growing following among the city’s vegetarians, vegans and those with intolerances to dairy, egg or gluten.
A boutique, friendly café in Greerton, Food Garden offers cabinet food and blackboard specials such as nachos and gourmet toasted sandwiches. The food is healthy, hearty and interesting, and there are new items in the cabinet each week as cook/owner Carol Garden develops new recipes.
Favourites with customers include the freshly made date scones and the vegetarian sausage rolls, while vegan diners enjoy the sunflower ‘meatloaf’ and spaghetti bolognaise.
Gluten-free food is also a focus, with at least four savoury and three sweet items daily for the gluten-intolerant, and gluten-free bread and rolls on hand for fresh sandwiches and toasties.
Food Garden’s menu is created onsite, and organic ingredients are used where possible. No artificial colours, flavours preservatives, thickeners, emulsifiers or commercial pre-mixes are used in the food prepared. A focus on fresh, seasonal produce is reflected in the dishes made, and local suppliers are preferred. Only free-range eggs are used in the café kitchen, and Fairtrade organic coffee ensures a great coffee experience.
The café also works hard to minimise its environmental footprint, offering compostable takeaway coffee cups and recycling all cardboard, plastic and cans. Cleaning products are environmentally friendly and the organic coffee grinds are used for composting.
Food Garden began as a catering company and the café kitchen is also the workspace for catering for both corporate and private customers.
Opening hours are Monday to Friday (8am – 3.30pm) and from the end of April, Saturdays from 8am – 4pm. The café is at 1356 Cameron Road, in the block of shops opposite Pet Essentials and beside the Countdown supermarket.
We can fully cater your functions or events, create and deliver a personal menu for busy professionals or provide individual dishes to delight your customers..
Contact us to find out more.
Links to other sites you may find useful:
Goodness Me is a local Tauranga company producing excellent gluten-free baking and bread mixes. (We use them for our gluten-free products.) Check them out at www.goodnessme.co.nz
CuisAnn is a New Zealand company doing a great range of gluten free pies, quiches, sausage rolls and sweets. Go to www.cuisann.co.nz to find out where your local supplier is.