LOCAL LIFE
ONE OF THE HILLS FINEST ...
Rachel ’ s side project of cooking for friends grew into something unexpected ! by Lorna Gordon
I first spoke to Rachel back in the midst of COVID when we were all avoiding social contact . I was lucky to catch up with her recently to see how her socially conscious business , Dinner on the Table , was doing now that lock downs are a thing of the past and I ’ m glad to say that business for Rachel is booming !
Rachel began her career as an academic , researching how disability impacts the whole family and not just the person or people who are disabled . She noticed that families who have to care for disabled members were often struggling with the level of support in practical areas , and one in particular was the provision of good healthy meals for the family .
When her university contract ended , she started to lean into her passion for cooking and began making home cooked meals for her family , which led to a time poor friend asking if she could make them some extra portions too . Before she knew it , she had rented a kitchen space and began cooking and selling her meals .
“ I began cooking from home , then found a commercial kitchen and rented it one day a week . I cooked and did the deliveries to the mums at school , with insulated bags hanging off the stroller ! I look back on it now and laugh , I was so naïve .”
Things have changed for Rachel and her team since those early days . She now has a space that she no longer has to share with other businesses and is happily situated in a purpose-designed kitchen in Castle Hill .
“ We had previously shared a space so now we have a lot more room and have been able to increase our capability to take on larger functions as well as doing the meals . Our ready-made meals are now being distributed to NSW , VIC , ACT and SE QLD , it ’ s been good .”
Business is booming and the side of Rachel ’ s business which gives back to the community has changed since we last spoke . Prior to COVID Rachel sent out family meals through support workers to help people with disabled family members have a nutritious meal without the fuss of cooking . However , lock downs and social distancing put an end to this . Rachel wasn ’ t deterred and found a new way to give back to the community by passing on meals through St Lucy ’ s School at Wahroonga .
“ We partnered with St Lucy ’ s school for children with disabilities . A family support worker from there who is in touch with all the families and knows who is struggling and needs a bit of a hand ,” Rachel said .
“ Every month we have committed to gifting a certain number of meals which we provide as a donation . We ask all of our catering clients if they would like to support this cause by giving them a voluntary purchase invoice for a family meal and they can choose to support the families by paying it . Thanks to the generous gifts of our clients , we have been able to double or triple what we are
6 ISSUE 105 // MARCH 2024 theindependentmagazine . com . au THE HILLS INDEPENDENT