By Denise Deason
A NOVEL Werribee enterprise, Essence Food Studio, has won the Australian Home Business Award in the Food Hospitality and Farming category.
The business, run by Bart and Alaine Beek, combines a cooking lesson with fine wines, live music and theatre in an intimate evening setting for patrons.
“We’re absolutely ecstatic that we won,” Alaine said.
“We’ve been running the business for five years and people have a lot of fun because it’s something very different.
“We came up with the concept by combining our talents.
“Bart is a chef and my background is in directing plays and performing live music.
“Over a glass of red one night, we brainstormed the idea of creating a setting where guests could come along, enjoy a full dinner, learn how to cook the courses and be entertained through quality music and theatre.
“It’s been very successful and people come from all over Melbourne – and keep coming back many times.”
Bart, 52, has owned and managed various award-winning restaurants in Adelaide and Sydney, while Alaine, 47, has performed as a professional vocalist with several artists and also has a passion for live theatre.
Essence Food Studio operates out of the Beeks’ home, in which they’ve installed a designer kitchen.
After dinner, they often take guests on to Werribee Park Mansion for the play, What Was That?, which Alaine wrote and produced.
For more information, visit www.essencefoodstudio.com.
