Ingredients to Success

Feb 4, 2022

Strawberries growning in a field.

What Makes Food Taste Good?

It’s no secret that Lyn Handasyde and her team cook reliably delicious food. The Cafe’s carefully crafted foods are creative and inspired, with unrivalled texture and flavour. But whilst Handasyde’s sponges are lusciously light and airy, the story behind our food reveals a lot of substance and strength. Read on to discover some of the core ingredients to our baking success.

Natural is Best

Lyn Handasyde has always loved baking and cookery, but it was her own experience with allergies that led to a deeper understanding of ingredients and whole foods. Lyn’s well known motto, ‘natural is best’ informs Handasyde’s choices around what we cook, how we cook it and what ingredients we use. For example, we love to cook with what’s in season. This is a natural choice and leads to some really creative cooking. Many of our baking ingredients are either biodynamic or organic. All of our flavourings and colourings are totally natural from fruit, and we use zero artificial preservatives. It’s naturally more delicious..!

Real Food

Here at Handasyde’s Strawberry Farm, we believe in real food. This means butter instead of canola spread…home made soup instead of store-bought concentrate…buttercream whipped up from whole ingredients and not bought in a package. We understand exactly what ingredients have gone into each of our menu items – because we’ve made just about everything from scratch. From the marshmallows to the BBQ sauce. More than that the very ingredients that go into these lovingly crafted foods are chosen with care and consideration.

High Quality Ingredients

We’ve done our research, and we know exactly which products perform best and in what recipes. Fine quality ingredients such as organic vanilla essence and biodynamic bread flour feature in our favourite recipes. Even the gelatine we use is carefully sourced and made from grass-fed cattle. We love to highlight the flavour and authenticity of good quality ingredients. Our cookery is not cluttered with chemicals or complicated flavourings. The bottom line when it comes to baking is: good quality, well-chosen ingredients really do make a big impact on the end result.

Sustainable Cooking

A lot of key ingredients are supplied from our own farm. You’ll find strawberries, eggs, citrus and fruit dusts throughout our baking and available for sale at the Cafe too. Beyond our own farm gates, we like to buy local and support Australian growers and suppliers.

By staying true to our values, the team here at Handasyde’s can do some pretty clever things in the kitchen. We like to minimise food waste and bring out the full potential of every ingredient.

Many of our kitchen creations are pared back, with minimal ingredients. Take our Strawberry Jellies, for example. You’ll find these sweet treats in our kids’ kinder boxes. They’re homemade using left over strawberry juice from jam making, in addition to sugar and gelatine. No colourings are added – the jelly is naturally red.

Our wholesome approach to cooking and preserving food means our products are packed with flavour and goodness all year round.

Strawberries growning in a field.

Team Work

Lyn’s extraordinary flair for home baked goods and her passion for real foods are an ongoing source of inspiration and sustenance. It’s not uncommon to find Lyn baking at three in the morning after she’s dreamed up a new idea. Whether it’s the consistency and tone of her caramel sauce, or the golden crispiness of her toasted sandwiches – Lyn likes to get things just right before sharing her new creations with her talented team. Then, it’s forks at the ready as all the team are encouraged to have a taste. After feedback from the team, which very often sounds like ‘yum!’ there are sometimes some little tweaks before
we proudly integrate new food onto the menu.

All of the team here have an understanding for how these lovingly-designed recipes are made, and how they should look and taste. This means that we can better assist you to select a food that suits your palate. If you need a little help deciding which cake to enjoy or which filling to choose for your sausage roll, you can rest assured our staff know what they’re talking about.

The cafe staff on a playground tractor

Our Customers

We pride ourselves on providing a variety of exceptional foods to suit every taste, but it’s not all down to us..! When it comes to the crunch, our customers have a big impact on what stays on the menu.

Thanks to your suggestions, freshly baked bagels are on the menu and they’re among our best loved foods. We love to hear what you think about our food. If you’ve got some feedback or suggestions, we will always listen.

You’ll find there’s a good range of options that cater to various dietary needs. There is a plentiful array of vegan and vegetarian light meals and treats. There’s also a substantial range of gluten free options too. In fact, our freshly baked Gluten Free sweets and savouries are so delicious that many people prefer them regardless of their food tolerances and dietary needs.

Our delicious offerings are grown out of love, but anchored by firm food principles and a fondness for family recipes, too. But our final word on food is that it can taste even better when shared with good friends and family.

We invite you to explore our full range of cakes, light meals and gelato whilst relaxing inside or out at Handasyde’s Strawberry Farm Cafe. Hungry for more? Sign up to our Newsletter for more recipes and the latest news on strawberry sensations.