24 | T HE B A R OSSA M AG
in and Owen was allowed to leave
school to work at the restaurant
at age 14 with the proviso he’d be
offered an apprenticeship at 16.
He hadn’t attended his first
Regency Park TAFE lecture
when his boss suggested he enter
a statewide competition for
apprentice chefs.
“I was competing against 33
apprentices from the Hyatt, the
Hilton, all big establishments and
I won! I hadn’t even attended trade
school yet, I couldn’t believe it.”
Owen found TAFE challenging,
yet the teenager grit his teeth for
the battle.
“I would tape every lecture and
refused to watch any television or
listen to anything but the recording
of the lectures.
“I passed simply from memory.
I refused to let anything get in my
way. I blocked out the entire world.”
On completing his apprenticeship,
Owen was quickly snapped up by
leading city restaurants.
But he missed the Barossa and
decided to open his own café at
Nuriootpa called Harvesters with
$300 in his pocket, a caravan cook
top and whatever else he could
“beg, borrow or steal”.
People soon noticed this talented,
homegrown chef and invitations
to cook at wineries and functions
soon followed, with each successful
event leading to another. Owen
Andrews Catering had taken off.
When he met his future wife,
Rebecca, a nursing student with
a love of cooking, Owen’s life
jumped to new heights.
They became the perfect team.
Harvesters reached a whole new
level of success as their romance
blossomed and the ability to
provide fine dining experiences
for hundreds of guests became
second nature.
Even when Owen was diagnosed
with late onset Type I diabetes
at age 27, his strength of
character shone.
THE GRAIN ROOM
A place to relax where we farm it, grow it and make it.
• Homemade Gourmet pies, local produce platters, barista coffee, local craft Beer and more.
“Charming, rustic and down to earth”
“It’s a challenge. Basically,
I’m allergic to food”, he smiles.
“I manage it reasonably well, as
much as anyone can manage
something like that. It’s just life,
make the best of it.”
The couple would eventually close
Harvesters and focus on catering
once they started their family.
“Our beautiful daughter Celeste,
who is now 12, seemed to be a
typical baby,” Owen explains.
“As she started to develop, Rebecca
started saying there’s something
wrong. I went no, she’ll catch up...
I was in denial.
“They did a review when she was
about four and said she was like an
18 month old. I remember feeling
down on that comment… at that
stage we were paying more than
a house mortgage on therapies,
trying to make it all better. But
that was making more of a problem
because the only thing that actually
makes it better is just accepting it.
“She was once zero, she’s now four
and if she’s two and a bit years
behind, I can live with that.
Does that mean when she is 20 she
might be 10? She’s still progressing.
We can see that.”
Celeste has blossomed since
going to Tanunda Primary School’s
Disability unit and has learned to
communicate through images on
an iPad-like device.
“She understands what every
picture means. She uses it to tell
me to ‘buzz off’ and we both have
a laugh,” says Owen.
“People don’t know about the other
side to our life. They don’t realise
when Rebecca and I go home, we
keep working around the clock to
provide the most loving and safe
environment we can to create a
typical, happy home for both our
children.
“Celeste is a beautiful girl and
her brother, Landen, just loves
her to bits.
“We all have challenges in life.
But I’ve always said, it’s not what
happens it’s how you recover.”
THE STABLES WINE ROOM
Come and discover Pindarie’s Estate wine room housed inside the restored historic Stables.
• Estate Wine Tasting
• Cellar Door tastings • Barista Coffee
• Seasonal Lunches • Spectacular Views
9 4 6 R o s e d a l e R o a d , B a r o s s a Va l l e y | P h o n e : 0 8 8 5 2 4 9 0 1 9 | O p e n 7 d a y s | w w w . p i n d a r i e . c o m . a u