STREAT Cookbook Launch and Giveaway
Melbourne’s Lord Mayor Robert Doyle, a right honourable Melbourne foodie, has launched STREAT’s fabulous cookbook and officially opened their new cafe at Melbourne Central on Monday May 6th.
The sole purpose of the cafe is to help STREAT provide many more thousands of hours of work experience, plus life skills and hospitality training, for young homeless people in Melbourne.
In January 2011 the Lord Mayor was STREAT’s 30,000th customer. He continues to be a great patron and supporter and was thrilled to hear that STREAT has now served over 400,000 customers! He said, “The City of Melbourne recognised STREAT with a Social Enterprise and Microbusiness grant last year and I’m delighted they are going from strength to strength. Melbourne has a proud record of social enterprise and STREAT is an outstanding example of what can be done with clever thinking, some funding, and a sound business model”.
Pnina and Aaron, two amazing young people who have recently taken part in the STREAT program, spoke at the event along with the Lord Mayor and Rebecca Scott, CEO and co-founder of STREAT. The cookbook, a first for STREAT, is in selected book stores now and on May 6th at the event the Lord Mayor launched into tales of his food memories and favourite tastes – just like the young trainees of STREAT have done in developing their dishes for the cookbook.
The vibrant 160-page hardcover cookbook is filled with delicious recipes from around the world created by STREAT’s head chef Rob Auger and also features beautiful photography and artwork, and a foreword and recipe from celebrity chef Poh Ling Yeow of ABC’s Poh’s Kitchen.
But how did the cookbook turn into a cafe? It was achieved through an amazing pre-sales campaign of the $45 cookbook on crowd-funding site Pozible that raised $41,406 and generated huge public and corporate support. Melbourne Central’s owners, The GPT Group, then donated $40,000. Extra donations and corporate sales of the cookbook pushed the total cash raised to just on $115,000.
In addition, Six Degrees architects and several fantastic suppliers contributed over $85,000 of amazing in-kind support and then built the café. STREAT has supported and trained 60 young people, at high risk of homelessness, for six-months across its three cafés and coffee roasting business. The cafes are located in Flemington, McKillop Street in Melbourne’s CBD, and the new café at Melbourne Central. Trainees learn to prepare and serve delicious meals and coffee and upon graduation receive a Certificate I and II in hospitality from the William Angliss Institute. The majority have then found jobs or gone on to further education.
Purchasing a copy of STREAT’s cookbook, or frequenting their cafes, or buying some coffee on-line is a great way to take part in STREAT’s crusade to stop youth homelessness. Just go to www.streat.com.au and you can help turn a young person’s life around.
STREAT Café, Ground Floor, Melbourne Central
Giveaway
How To Enter
Just send us a 200-300 word article on your favourite Melbourne experience to david(at)theworldlovesmelbourne(dot)com. Please give us your email address and name.
The winner will be announced on May 17.
In sending your article you agree to us publishing the article on this site.
The judges decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
Enjoy!