The Good Life
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An elixir of hemp at Elixiba By Vivienne Pearson
At the time of writing it is exactly six months since the legalisation of hemp food. The world hasn’t stopped turning and I have finally tried a hemp burger. Elixiba, a plant-based restaurant in Byron Bay, added hemp burgers to their menu on the first day they were allowed to. They work closely with Bangalow-based Hemp Foods Australia.
Kan and Goy at Success Thai.
Warming Thai food? Success! Story and photo by Vivienne Pearson Winter is coming and the need for comforting and nutritious food is rising as fast as the darkness in our evenings. Thai food ticks all the boxes. Dishes such as green and red curry, laksa, pad Thai and fried rice are perfect for cooler days and nights. At Success Thai in Byron Bay you can be assured that your food will be super fresh, thanks to a quirky menu that offers a different range of dishes each day of the week. This means that you know that Tuesday’s Tom Yum soup was made fresh on Tuesday simply because it wasn’t available on previous days. The variety in the menu keeps things fresh (pardon the pun) for regular customers, as well as for owners Kan and Goy Kingaew. The super popular items of red curry and green curry transcend the nightly menu changes and, if you are really desperate for your favourite stir-fry dish, Kan is able to make it on one of that dish’s ‘off duty’ nights, thanks to that style of cooking needing no preparation. Or, you can use the rotating menus as your inspiration for trying something new. Goy shares that recently popular dishes are the lesser known chilli jam stir fry and pad see ew, a stir-fried dish using thick noodles, egg and vegetables with a sweet soy sauce. Thai-born Goy and Kan have been running Success Thai for seven years. They offer takeaway as well as dine in, with both BYO and licensed options for the latter. They are getting ready for winter. ‘Winter is good,’ says Goy. ‘Once the festivals finish, we have lots of locals enjoying our food.’ Goy’s only request to locals is that they bring a jumper with them so that they can stay warm while waiting for and enjoying their warming winter Thai food. Success Thai: 3/109 Jonson Street, Byron Bay (between Carlyle and Kingsley Streets). Open for lunch Mon–Fri 12– 3pm and for dinner 6/7 nights 5–8.30pm. *Check Facebook @Success Thai Food for updates on whether they will continue to be open Sunday nights over winter.
‘There was lots of conversation about it when it was first legalised,’ says Grace Hosken, general manager. Since then, the burger, which combines hemp seeds with black beans and sweet potato, has attracted surprisingly little comment other than how yummy it is (and I can now concur). ‘It is in our top three best-selling menu items every week,’ says Grace. That hemp has finally been granted legitimacy in Australia is the source of joy to those who have long understood its versatility as a plant (with uses in food, textiles, plastic alternatives and biofuel), its eco-friendliness (requiring minimal water and with high carbon absorbency), and its health benefits (high levels of Omega 3 and 6, a complete protein, and rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants).
Do you feel like trying a hemp burger? – photo Vivienne Pearson
For those not yet in the know, hemp used for food contains almost no THC (the active ingredient in cannabis) and any that does exist (at very low levels) has no psychoactive properties. In short, it is a plant, not a drug. Elixiba has trademarked the slogan ‘Home of the hemp burger’ but it’s not stopping at burgers. In fact, the whole restaurant is far from a burger bar, with a full range of plant-based foods including salads, macro bowls, nachos, bruschetta and desserts. Hemp also features at Elixiba in the world’s first hemp beer. Chilled is one within a range of beers brewed specially for Elixiba by Pickled Pig Brewery in Tweed. Each one contains herbs designed to evoke moods. You can choose from Dreamweaver, Aphrodite’s Ale, Brainstorm (ginko, rosemary, tulsi, brahmi and herb Robert), or Chilled (with chamomile, passionflower and damiana as well as hemp). Or, if you want to try sipping hemp but aren’t a beer drinker, try a Hemp Happiness cocktail, which features the house-infused hemp vodka as well as damiana liqueur, lemon and mint. If you need extra incentive to check out Elixiba, consider heading there on the last Wednesday of each month for Pay As You Feel day. Drawing from a model made famous by Lentil As Anything, you can choose from a set range of dishes and drinks and, at the end, choose to pay whatever you feel inspired to.
People paying what they feel – photo www.danescott. com.
‘It has been received very well,’ says Grace of the Pay As You Feel days. ‘It attracts people from all walks of life and some really click in with the feel.’ Other events are best found out about via Facebook or Instagram, with offers such as $10 hemp burgers or Mexicanthemed nights. ‘We have such a beautiful base of regular customers who are attracted to our holistic and ethical ethos.’ The team are key to this ethos also, with Elixiba choosing a young, vibrant and, at times, eccentric crew. ‘This is reflective of our product and space,’ says Grace. ‘When you eat here, you can feel at ease and be yourself while you enjoy your evening.’ Elixiba: Shop 10, Feros Arcade (23 Jonson St), Byron Bay. Open 7 days, 12–late. Facebook and Instagram: @Elixiba. Trip Advisor: Elixiba Plant Based Restaurant. Ph 6685 6845.
Elixiba’s feeling-based beers – photo Vivienne Pearson
Marketing: what money can’t buy Local business woman Anna McCormack has recently been nominated for the Social Media Marketing Institute’s Best Emerging Social Media Marketer for 2018 to be announced at the Social Media Marketing Awards in Sydney on August 16th. Anna started her business Beacon Social Media in February 2017 and since this time has been steadily building a reputation in the local area and abroad, with clients now as far as Sweden and Germany. Anna says that her passion for supporting businesses with their presence on social media is based on the value she sees in developing those business/client relationships online. She has a knack for simplifying this process making it easy for business owners to develop a solid understanding and practice with their social media activity.
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‘Social media is about people. It’s not a place for business to get on and sell their product, but rather a space where they can share, very simply, who they are, what they stand for and what they offer – but not always in the way we think. It can be the integrity of the business that stands out the most. Their light-heartedness for example, or their consistency… these are things that money cannot buy’, said Anna McCormack ‘A lot of my clients breathe a sigh of relief with this approach as it takes the pressure off trying to be something on social media, and rather lets them just be themselves, and have a bit of fun in the process’. The next step for Anna is a trip to Europe later this year where she will be presenting a series of workshops and talks in London and Amsterdam on the topic of ‘True Marketing’.
The Byron Shire Echo May 23, 2018 27