Best News Travel: The Green at St Columbs

Gastrology bloggers dined courtesy of Jesuit Social Services.

Located in the beautiful former chapel at the St Columbs church, The Green at St Columbs is the latest wholesome, community-minded project from Jesuit Social Services.

The Green at St. Columbs has all of the ingredients necessary for a premium Melbourne cafe - a comfortable and chic ZWEI interior, Code Black Coffee and a modern, all-day menu crafted by Head Chef Kevin Dick (of Cutler & Co. and St. Ali North esteem).

This stylish social enterprise in Hawthorn is an extension of Jesuit Social Services’ hands-on hospitality training program, Ignite. The Ignite program operates over three cafes and provides mentoring and pre-accredited and accredited training programs to long-term unemployed people and disadvantaged job seekers, assisting them in gaining skills and experience so that they may make lasting positive changes in their lives.

Each day, participants of the Ignite program further develop their skills alongside hospitality professionals at The Green. The café is developed to work towards self-sustainability, with all proceeds put back into the Ignite program.

The menu at The Green at St. Columbs is a versatile and exciting culmination of locally-sourced and seasonal produce, with dishes ranging from wholesome breakfast offerings to larger lunch plates.

Moroccan lamb salad –slow-roasted lamb shoulder, pulses and hummus

The lamb shoulder was deliciously tender. As expected, it was exceedingly flavoursome and just melted in our mouths having benefited from being slow cooked for hours. The rich house-made hummus tied lamb, pulses and grains together while the tangy sumac dressing added a lovely acidity to the dish.

House smoked salmon fillet gnocchi and poached eggs

Marinated, dried out and smoked, the salmon was superb. The gnocchi was wonderfully soft while the eggs were expertly poached. A memorable dish combining flawless texture with equally superlative flavours.