Purple Goanna Cafe

Owner: Suzanne Grech

My name is Suzanne Grech and I was born in Sydney Camperdown in 1979. My Mother a Gamilaraay woman from Coonabarabran born to Keith and Kathleen Hinton and my father a Maltese man raised in the suburbs of Newtown born to Patricia and Frank Grech.

I grew up originally with my father’s family eating pasta based dishes and rich hearty meals that would have to stretch to feed all 7 grandkids at one time, we all lived under the same roof and sharing was definitely caring unless you were ready for an argument … or a food fight. From here I would travel 500km away to visit regularly my mother’s side of the family that lived in Coonabarabran just outside the Warrumbungles, here was my home (and still is). There’s something about the smell in the air that invades all your senses, whether it’s the richness of the surrounding bush, the smells of the freshly lit fires in people’s homes or the freshness of the dew melting away from the morning sun, either way it engulfs you and you become it.

My grandmother would prepare my favourite soup (and even till this day she still does), knowing that we would be home soon. Fresh vegetables and chops and a hint of chicken noodle …(and I’m sure there’s a secret ingredient in there hiding) and I’d think about it while driving and staring out the window at the trees that seem to be able to grow out of that bright red earth.

From the time I’d arrive … I’d just eat , nanna’s rock cakes, roasts, pop’s lemon chicken, corned silverside with white sauce, home-made pudding and Xmas, well let’s just say , I came back 10kgs heavier at Xmas time … hehehe. She would take us out to the mission (Burrabeedee), her and pop and we would walk till sunset around five cornin and digging up yam and doe’s or cray yabbin in the dam to take home with us.

So from this I think I came to have an interest in food, and I would explore with different tastes, sometimes half of them nearly keeling me over, but I learnt what foods went where and when to put them there.

Two years ago I was given an opportunity through a friend to attend a workshop run through the Bush Food Sensation program. At this time I had been doing small catering projects, experimenting with bush herbs and spices, learning from my wrongs along the way, guiding myself to get it right..

Involved in the program I was mentored and coached by a business advisor and a chef under the guidance of some very special people to me. That’s when I was able to see that my thoughts, aspirations, hopes and what ifs could actually come together.

Through being involved in the Bush Food Sensation I met people that held out their hands and said here you go take it and I will help you get there. This to me was my first Big step in getting anywhere close to opening my Café, which was what I had dreamed for 4 years earlier of doing.

Through this support group I met other people who would hold out their hands and more people that offered help as well. It was like I had stumbled on the trunk of a wise tree and it was branching me up to the sky.

From here I took on catering events and stalls, fighting for people to try our foods chasing them up the streets saying “just have a taste – free sample “. It was very disappointing and there were many nights I would go home and think to myself ‘am I following the right path with this’, how I wished people would just try it, they would like it.

But with encouragement, support and motivation from my mob (you know who you are) I persisted through the downs and over those mountains and I couldn’t have done it without you guys.

Now in the middle of my grandfather’s old stomping grounds, I stand proudly under my sign that says ”Purple Goanna” the only indigenous Café in Redfern. Run proudly by Suzanne Grech and her brother Corey Grech. Koori owned, Koori run. Providing a modern twist on traditional Aboriginal Cuisine.