effe.

28/05/2026

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another sneaky little write up, this time in !

love the section highlighting our local gardeners and community support that continues to foster in our little cafe.

speaking of which, since getting back from my trip there’s been jerusalem artichokes, finger limes, and mustard greens from the aforementioned Belgrave gardener, as well as kilos of kumquats, scores of apples, rhubarb on the way, lemons, limes, yuzu, and chinotto offered up once they’re ready too! All from customers reaching out to us by their own volition and generosity knowing that their gifts won’t be wasted and they’ll funnel back into the community.

thanks again everyone, your spirit feeds ours

27/05/2026

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soups up!

Winter is descending on the Hills so we’re thinking it’s soup and sourdough focaccia time!

beginning with Thai Pumpkin soup with coconut cream, fish sauce, lime, and a bit of chilli. Belgrave grown butternut and chillies too!

Trevor from gifted me some bacon bones to represent their quality and my oh my the beautiful smokiness of the pea and ham soup I have waiting the in freezer next up is insane. No wonder people rave about them up there

as usual, as much local and in house as we can do so we’re making sourdough focaccias to pair as well! In the next few weeks i’ll be ready to incorporate some fermented veggies too

21/05/2026

meeting .alex.horbenko and from .bistro at was certainly one of the highlights for me.

these two were just giddy sharing their creations and flavours from the bistro and were super transparent about recipes and concepts for me to take back home to effe.

‘the plate’ runs on a zero-waste ethos as a brunch spot in central Libson, a concept I’ve only seen in fine dining. Just immensely inspirational for me as a cafe owner, and doubly so to experience their passion for it

once we got back to Lisbon, .fermentacion and I paid them a visit for lunch only to find was already there too! The boys ran us through a tasting of their garums (amino sauces; like fish sauce but for any protein) and cheongs (sugar extraction and fermentation of fruit) before making sure I donned an apron to make their eggplant misozuke they’d explained to me back at Aterra.

unfortunately, I had to sacrifice my vac-sealed eggplants at Melbourne airport (pic. over concerns of raw produce in a ferment that wasn’t a pickle... more education work to be done fermenters!

1. the plate
2. n’duja garum
3. fish and eel blood garum | octopus garum | egg white garum | kebab garum
4. medrono cheong (tree strawberry) | banana peel cheong | horseradish cheong
5. citrus peel marmalade method
6. peeling eggplants
7. vac-sealing eggplants and bread miso
8. the final photo in customs, carrying this through the line caught some funny looks
9. cheesecake dessert
10. the most recent reel from the plate, really demonstrating their approach to zero-waste and leveraging their condiments

incredible stuff, keep pushing guys

20/05/2026

such an incredible experience at in Alentejo, Southern Portugal

44 of us came together from all over the world, from myriad cultural and culinary backgrounds, to share and learn together. It was beautiful and unforgettable. We all now have a wider community to lean on and lift up.

for me, the connections were the most valuable part of the experience, and every person was so generous with their knowledge and experience. I especially want to shout out the chef’s Alex and Mike at .bistro (see next post) running through practical recipes with me to reduce waste, and Jelena (.belgrave ), Theresa ( ), and Sash ( ) offering me practical advice on approaching fermentation at effe. I’m so much more ready now

1. the required selfie with ; discussing targeted Instagram ads leading my to buying this shirt
2. ‘ferment karaoke’; a collection of products brought by attendees and a palpable expression of everyone’s individuality
3. foraged fauna for wild yeast collection from Aterra
4. jarred to monitor yeast activity
5. loquat & rosemary bubbling away
6. the incredible .webster.health expressing the importance of knowing what constitutes kombucha and what doesn’t...
7. after dinner yaps
8. excitement over a salt-bread covered celeriac aged for a year by .love
9. shio koji, amazake, kombucha
10. various intense Chinese condiments from
11. Japanese pickle plate from
12. straining Aluá with .somerset and .webster.health
13. drinking mirin - .somerset
14. heading and halving strawberries
15. dofuru for everyone with a strawberry top; koji, tofu, brine
16. Serbian pickled cabbage rolls from .belgrave with our tempeh from earlier
17. trying farmhouse sake (doboroku)
18. lovely figs and swaying grass at Santa Clara Seboia as we are leaving via train
19. following a peacock back to the venue
20. reception

thank you .somerset and the rest of the team. absolutely magic

30/03/2026

19/03/2026

super grateful to be featured in & today!

Michael’s Mum proudly rushed and picked up 3 copies of the paper to hold on to haha

happy to see got their rightful mention; just a correction that it’s not powdered chai. And getting more flowers for their exceptional oil!

17/03/2026

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🌻 Josh's Garden 🌿

locals likely already know about the generous Canadian in Belgrave, but for those who don't we'd just like to highlight him and his garden for a sec

within about two weeks of opening we received a message here from Josh asking if we might like some beetroots, button squashes, and basil from his home garden. Absolutely, yes!

since then, every beetroot tart, squash or zucchini galette, spaghetti squash tart, cucumber and green apple* sorbet, and anything with basil has come directly from Josh for nothing but spent coffee grounds, a coffee or hot chocolate, and a cookie for his daughter occasionally.

it's not just for us either! in Belgrave receive these regular produce drops alongside heaps of others in the community

just last Friday we attended a regular event organised by Alex from Little Hendrix and Josh for a good 60-70 people with free pizza and hoppers; a perfect setting for everyone to socialise and unwind whilst the kids go wild on the playground

the generosity is astounding and we couldn't be more grateful for the support he and the community fosters here in the hills, thanks so much!

shoutout .ferguson.3557!

17/03/2026

effe effigy

the talented made us this awesome clay sculpture of our little dino! the removable mug is so fun but they’re also super cursed without their hat on 😅

p.s. effigy is a fun bit of wordplay and all but it’s a priceless gift for us