“Taste your way around Australia”

How often do you stress about a holiday and undoing all the good work you’ve done because you don’t know where to eat at your chosen holiday destination? I know I do, which has been exacerbated as I now have also become a food snob living in Sydney, which has such a vast array of restaurants and cafes that cater for the gluten free, vegan, super food crowd. Over the years, I have developed a genuine phobia of junk food, I don’t enjoy the taste or the way it makes me feel afterwards, sluggish and bloated, so I make it a priority to do my research before heading out of Sydney for places to eat and gyms to use.

Eating is a sensory experience to be savoured and is good for both the body and the soul. In my opinion, it comes down to the quality of the ingredients and the creativity of the dish. A Waygu beef burger grilled to perfection with loads of interesting greens, truss tomato and house made garlic aioli on a sourdough bun, hands down beats a bland garden salad drowned in a store bought dressing high in sugar and fat…salad or not, definitely NOT healthy or satisfying in flavour or nutrients!!

Every year I travel to the Australian ski fields to facilitate my children’s ski/snowboard racing. I have been doing it now for 7 years and spend a significant amount of time in Jindabyne as a direct result. Luckily, there is an extremely well equipped gym, High Country Fitness,  which offers a number of classes including spin and pump, owned by ex-Olympic skiier Manuela Berchtold, that I patronise regularly. Plus who can deny the eternal lure of an exhilarating run outdoors, skirting magnificent Lake Jindabyne located in the town centre, which ensures I’m adequately covered when it comes to exercise, and that is without even taking into account, time spent clocking up kilometres on my skis, but I have always struggled to find a café for lunch that meets all my needs…until 6 months ago when a new café entered the Jindabyne coffee scene with a bang!

Birchwood Café has everything…sensational coffee (generous sized piccolos and BonSoy milk for those of us who aren’t big fans of dairy), scrumptious meals for breakfast and lunch, think nourish bowls and superfood salads with a Middle Eastern slant that are satisfying and delicious (of course there is still the obligatory burger, as we are in the heart of the Snowy River Shire, but the chicken is fried in buttermilk and beetroot relish is added to the beef burger) and free fast Wi Fi. They are also open regularly for dinner on Friday and Saturday nights with the occasional theme night thrown in during the ski season eg when they celebrated Canada Day with poutine fries (hot chips smothered in gravy and cheese…certainly not my dish of choice but my kids loved it), buffalo wings and Canadian beer.

The service is friendly, fast and efficient, the fit out is second to none and is light and airy with a modern, Scandinavian feel. It is owned by Tess and Zac, born and bred on the South Coast with extensive experience cooking in restaurants/cafes throughout Australia, who have gravitated to Jindabyne given their love for the snow, and is testament to the quality of the locals that they have created such an inviting, culinary haven in a small country town. Birchwood is tucked in behind Nuggets Shopping Village on Gippsland Street and is definitely a must on your drive up to the NSW ski fields. Drop in…I promise, you won’t be disappointed!