There’s a bit of a healthy food boom going on at the moment, but for Matt Gatchell eating healthy, eating ‘clean’, is nothing new. He grew up with food allergies and to stay well he’s always had to be careful about what he eats.
It was Matt’s own experience that attracted him to a career as a chef and to his starting up Café Inc in Rototuna. Then he opened Fill a Bowl in Te Rapa and now a new Fill a Bowl has opened in Ward Street Hamilton’s CBD.
“At the café we focused on serving good, healthy food, gluten free, raw and vegan offerings. We didn’t want any one with allergies or special food needs to feel alienated when they came to us.”
And it was at the café that Matt had his lightbulb moment, the idea for Fill a Bowl. “People would come into Café Inc and ask for one of our salads without, say, onions, which couldn’t be done because the dishes were all pre-made. And I thought, what if we could let people make their own?”
Matt says as he planned Fill a Bowl, it was actually the sauces he created first. “People like their sauces and dressings, barbecue or fruity for example, but they don’t want them to overpower their meal, so I first worked on getting those sauces right. To me, a good dish is all about balance, there’s no single dominant flavour.”
While Fill a Bowl customers can choose what they want in their gourmet bowls, they are given guidance from a menu that offers a good variety of tastes and flavours. Maybe a breakfast bowl, a fragrant Thai bowl, or a nutritionist-approved Bento beef bowl. Yes, there is meat available alongside the vegetarian and vegan options.
All savoury bowls start with a mixed-lettuce base, then freshly chopped vegetables are added along with one of eight in-house made dressings. On top of that goes some brown rice and protein of your choice, sauce, and a topping such as guacamole or crunchy chickpeas to finish. The food is prepped fresh each day in the large purpose-built kitchen in Te Rapa.
“We’re getting good feedback from customers and we’ve started to get our regulars,” Matt says. “We’ve now got customers who come in four or five days a week for lunch. And some people will take bowls home for their evening meals too.” All servings, dine-in our take-out, are served in compostable bowls with wooden cutlery. The only difference being that the takeaways have lids.
Matt is keen to extend the out-catering side of the business. “We offer this service in two ways. A client can either contact us and order a mix of ingredients for people to make their own bowls, or they can choose a selection of bowls from our menu. Just tell us what you want and we’ll deliver,” he says.
And you can now download the Fillabowl App.
