Food Estate, Belrose

James and Donna are a husband and wife team who have recently opened a new business.  And for anyone who loves their food and entertaining, this is a great new business that you can see more in this article.  James trained and worked as a chef before running his own very successful catering business.  A year ago he had a desire to open a business where he could sell a range of quality products to chefs and caterers and the DIY cook and entertainer.

Food Estate

Food Estate

Opening six months ago in a warehouse facility is Food Estate, providores of fine food.  It provides a service to restaurants, cafes and caterers and from Thursday to Saturday it’s open to the public.

The entrance

The entrance

A good friend of mine is Jenny and she entertains constantly and always for large numbers of people like 150 to her Christmas party, 200 to her husband’s 50th, a cocktail party for 100 parents from her daughter’s graduating class, 50 women to a baby shower and then there’s the dinner parties.  Having her finger on the pulse, Jenny discovered Food Estate the instant it opened.  Because of all her entertaining she beetles down there frequently as she’s able to buy in bulk, is paying less than retail and loves the quality and variety of what’s provided.

A great selection

A great selection

For six months Jenny has been saying, ‘Have you been to Food Estate?  You’ve got to go there’.  So last week I drove to Food Estate which is very close to the Belrose Supa Centre.  The first thing that delighted me when I arrived is that there’s lots of available parking and all the parking is very close to the warehouse.  Excellent!

Th ecoolrooms

The cool rooms

Warehouses aren’t normally a thing of beauty but this one has been well styled with black walls and lots of chalk-art.  It appears James is not only handy in the kitchen but also handy with a box of tools as he has made a lot of the shelving and the counter top out of recycled wooden crates.

Frozen goods for the DIY caterer

Frozen goods for the DIY caterer

At the rear of the warehouse is a large cool room.  As much as I hate the cold, I don’t mind wandering through a cool room.  Food Estate stocks a great variety of cheeses and I noticed the parmigiana reggiano is very well priced.  I found a truffle cheddar cheese from Ford Farm in England and last night I took it to a barbecue and it was served with pre-dinner drinks and gobbled up in a matter of minutes.  It was a very smooth cheddar with a prominent truffle flavour.  Everyone adored it.

The cool room

The cool room

James has just returned from a food and produce tour of Italy.  While there he visited the town where prosciutto di parma is made and stamped with the ducal crown.  James now stocks that authentic Italian prosciutto and you will find it’s much more affordable to buy it from Food Estate than from your corner deli.

Twice-cooked duck pies

Twice-cooked duck pies

Quality small goods are also stocked at Food Estate.  I found some from La Boqueria.  The name comes from the La Boqueria market in Barcelona that dates back to 1217 and was always known for having the best of what Spain has to offer.  A specialty of the market was the produce from Spain’s best pigs.  For its business, La Boqueria small goods company has chosen the name that is synonymous with quality.  I took home a chorizo flavoured with fennel and also took it to the barbecue where it was devoured as quickly as the cheese.

Hand made spinach and cheese triangles

Hand made spinach and cheese triangles

In the freezer section I found so many items to help the DIY caterer and this is all especially useful given we are coming into the party season.  James explained that a lot of his Thursday to Saturday customers are private individuals with anxiety-due-to-entertaining-at-home syndrome.  They arrive knowing they have 40 people for drinks on a Saturday night and are not really sure what to feed them.  This is where James and Donna provide a complimentary service of taking an interest in your event and advising what items would work well for your function.

Frozen cakes that thaw perfectly for your next function

Frozen cakes that thaw perfectly for your next function

Food Estate is full of great ideas from frozen pork and chive dumplings, twice-cooked miniature duck pies, homemade spinach and cheese triangles and arancini balls.  To give you an idea of price, you can buy 100 arancini balls for just over a dollar each.  My friend, Jenny, buys bags of the frozen dumplings to serve as snacks to her three children who are all studying for exams.

Mini Cupcakes

Mini Cupcakes

The freezer section also has sweet treats and you can buy a variety box of petit fours that has six different little desserts for around $2.00 per item.  These same desserts are sold to 5-star hotels in Sydney.  There are also boxes of mini cupcakes in four flavours that are very pretty and all you have to do is leave them on the bench to thaw and then then serve.

Hot chilli sauces

Hot chilli sauces

As it is now Christmas baking season, I was really pleased to find that Food Estate stocks bulk quantities of almond paste and fondant.  As most of you are aware I do make a lot of Christmas cakes and buying small packets of both marzipan and fondant is not cost effective and very expensive.  James stocks genuine marzipan from Odense (same brand I was buying at the supermarket) but this comes in 1kg packets and costs less than half the price I was paying at the supermarket.

Lots and lots of chocolate

Lots and lots of chocolate

My face lit up when I saw a 1 gallon (4kg) container of white fondant.  In the supermarket I could only buy 500gm packets and it would take three to cover one cake.  I now have enough for two large cakes and a couple of smaller ones and by buying in bulk I saved a lot of money.  If you don’t require such a large amount, Food Estate also stocks smaller quantities.

Goodies

Ginger Ale, Maldon Salt, Coconut Oil, Tonic Water, Green Curry Paste, Chorizo and a truffle cheese

I visited Food Estate thinking I would buy a couple of things but came away with a boot load.  This is a terrific small business and as an individual, great that they allow the public to shop at their warehouse and take advantage of industry prices.  With my Christmas entertaining and baking schedule cranking up, I know I’ll be back to reload my boot.

Fondant and Marzipan

Fondant and Marzipan

For readers visiting Food Estate, James and Donna will give a gift to every customer who spends more than $50.00 and mentions Hotly Spiced.

Verdict:  A relief to every entertainer

Chalk art

The warehouse

Food Estate:  4/20 Narabang Way, Belrose NSW

Comments

  1. Wow what a great find Charlie. Thanks for introducing it to us. And good luck to the small business too, they are the backbone of the country.
    Carolyn

  2. Haha I love when I come away with a giant load of foodie shopping though I intended only a little 😛
    The food estate seems so wonderful, small businesses are often some of the most wonderful. I hope to visit here! 🙂

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

  3. Great business Charlie and perfect timing finding it. I wish it wasn’t so far away from me.

  4. That is so cool, I could have done with something like that when I lived in Sydney, especially since it would have been just up the road… Oh I want one of those buckets of Maldon Salt… it is $6 for 200g here on the Gold Coast… so annoying! Sorry about the complaining, but I’m a little jealous!!! LOL 🙂 Liz x

  5. That looks like such a fun outing! I know I would’ve come away with bag fulls.

  6. I have pictures in my head of you all excited, like a kid in a candy store, grinning from ear to ear, loading up your shopping cart. What a wonderful place to shop, I would love to have a place like that near me.

  7. I wouldn’t know where to start and doubt that I’d stop before buying a ton of stuff.

  8. Oh I could spend so much money here Charlie! Stocking up in bulk is such a sensible option, you not only save money but can gloat over your huge stash of goodies too- or is that just me? 🙂 xox

  9. This looks like a fabulous place if you’re into entertaining, which I’m not. Plus, it wouldn’t be too convenient for me, living in the U.S. and all.

  10. What a great store! And yes I can imagine there are a few people that suffer from that anxiety from entertaining at home and that this would be a god send to them!

  11. Hi Charlie, What a great concept, I could do a lot of damage to my pocket book here.

  12. This place looks incredible … I think I’d be lost in there for hours! I’m not the least bit surprised you bought heaps of stuff.

  13. im a sucker for chalk on black, i would want to buy everything here!

  14. Congratulations on the new business of your friends, Charlie! They have a nice variety of offering. I especially like the look of those hand made spinach and cheese triangles. Can’t wait to taste ’em!

    xx Gourmet Getaways

  15. Wow that sounds like amazing place – sadly I can’t do much shopping in bulk because we just don’t have any room to store extra groceries but even the snacks for entertaining sound really good and a lifesaver when you just don’t have the time (or like some people I know, are not interested in cooking)

  16. Charlie what an amazing place! I can’t believe the quality (looks-wise anyway) of those sweets and the price. They look wonderful. All the frozen stuff sounds and looks very fancy – not your average frozen party fare. I wish there was somewhere like this in Brisbane. How fantastic that you could stock up for your Christmas baking. I’m a bit jealous of the tub of salt too.

  17. I would imagine it could be very easy to drop a small fortune in a store like the food estate–good bargains always seem to crate an environment where I spend more. Great place in time for Christmas baking. It really is an attractive store and one I’d love to visit. I particularly like the look of the frozen food section. 🙂

  18. What an amazing place! I love the concept too – it sounds like a recipe for success for sure.

  19. I wish I lived near there! I’d collect my gift and spend a load of money. What a nifty find!

  20. OOh -look at all those pastries and cakes! I would love to have a “Food Estate” here in Atlanta!
    Cannot wait to see the goodies you make using your stash of Food Estate goods! xxs

  21. Whoah. I can’t stop staring at that giant sack of quinoa!

  22. Food Estate looks amazing! I love buying good stuff at a bargain price. This looks so worth the trip — lucky you!

  23. You are so lucky to have this where you live! I would be in my element and probably visit far too often 🙂

  24. Ooooo…. Freakin love it. 🙂 I could go nuts with access to these yums. And godsend for the party planner who isn’t entirely confident in the kitchen. Good to know you have a stash of delish in case I’m in the area. Ha! Kidding. 🙂

  25. What a brilliant find. It doesn’t matter how ‘chefy’ we like to think we all are – when you have a crowd arriving it’s nice to know there are good quality and sensibly priced options available. I hope they do well.

  26. Now THAT is an amazing market!! I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a well-laid out, attractive warehouse!

  27. OMG that place looks awesome, why don’t we have places like this in Rotorua lol – think I might make a Christmas Cake this year, my one and only Aunty in New Zealand (the rest live in Holland), used to make us all one, but sadly she is now with my mum, maybe I should carry on the tradition and make one for my kids each and one for us….

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