Meet: Together Bespoke Wholefood Catering
Photography by Bryce Carleton.
Phoebe Carr and Emily Read share a passion for nutrition and wholefoods. Last year, the duo decided it was time to put their talent to work, transcending from best friends to business partners.
Having cultivated a life-long friendship, Phoebe Carr and Emily Read began where most budding caterers would naturally think to start – by feeding their friends and family. At first, business involved the occasional friend's birthday party or family gathering. Soon, their passion for nutritious and delicious wholefoods evolved into a full-time job and Together Bespoke Wholefood Catering was born.
Q. Tell me a bit about how Together came about?
"Being friends for years, we have always loved the idea of creating something together based around wellbeing and food. Together started as something we did for fun in our spare time, putting together dinner parties for friends – any excuse to create an antipasto platter.
After a push in the right direction, Together has organically grown into a full-time job for the both of us. Some amazing opportunities have presented themselves at just the right time and we have grabbed them with both hands, learning as we go."
Q. Have you always had an interest in food?
Emily: "My interest in natural, unprocessed foods began while living in London, where I loved roaming the aisles of Wholefoods and experimenting with nourishing, new ingredients. The importance of eating well became a priority when my Dad was diagnosed with cancer.
I love to create meals to share with my friends and family, using seasonal produce and whatever I have on hand. I find it therapeutic, I'm most content when I'm in the kitchen. "
Phoebe: "My passion for food started when I decided to study Holistic Nutrition, a few years ago. Learning about the benefits of eating naturally inspired me to experiment with new recipes and ingredients. I have an organic garden at home and I love to create meals with whatever is growing. Cooking for me, is a way of expressing my love and creativity."
Q. Describe a typical day for the Together duo ...
"A typical work day for us would start with getting up before the sun and heading down to Charlie Coco's where we create a range of delicious wholesome cabinet food for people to grab on-the-go. We would then head home for some breakfast, reply to emails and any enquiries we might have and plan our day.
"This could be anything to creating vegan slices for Bowl and Arrow, baking a wholesome birthday cake, picking edible flowers from the garden, preparing food for our market stall or making seed crackers and chutney for grazing platters and events. A perfect day would end with a walk along our local beach or a workout. Every single day is different – we love the variety of our work."
Q. In a word, what do you love most about food?
"Sharing. What we love most about food is sharing it, whether it be a weeknight family dinner at the table hearing about everyone’s day, sharing a recipe for our favourite green smoothie or baking a friend a birthday cake.
We love the way food brings people together. We can almost always be found ordering multiple dishes off the menu to share whenever we go out. We are so grateful we get to share our lovingly-made, healthy, wholesome food with more and more people."
Q. What’s your mantra when it comes to living and eating well?
"Balance – we feel that balance is the key to a healthy, happy life. We try to nourish our bodies with natural wholefoods, get up and move and spend time in nature whenever we can. One of our goals for the year is to improve our work-life balance and spend more time listening to what it is that our bodies need.
We never feel guilty for indulging in a delicious meal or glass of wine – especially when shared with the people we love."
To learn more about Together Bespoke Wholefood Catering, see their website here.
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