Stefi Tello beams as she carries an unusual breakfast plate towards our timber communal table. I'm at A Pot of Courage in Ballarat, a not-for-profit social enterprise cafe that empowers women of diverse cultural backgrounds through hospitality training and employment opportunities.
Ballarat is a former gold rush city in Victoria's Central Highlands, an hour and a half northwest of Melbourne. There's already a small jar of native Australian blooms on the table, along with a yellow card designating the section as a "Have a Chat" table. Later, A Pot of Courage founder Shiree Pilkinton tells me that sharing stories is what she thinks breaks down cultural barriers.
"It shifts perspectives and broadens minds," she says.
Tello proudly places an arepa in front of me. The cornmeal cake is miles away from the ones she grew up eating in Colombia. The top half has been deliberately angled away from the bottom to reveal an avocado rose, painstakingly positioned beside a fried egg and chorizo. The frijoles (beans) and cheese taste most like home for her.
A Pot of Courage opened at the start of February 2020. Source: Supplied
"In Colombia, everyone loves arepas. We have been eating since we were little child," says Stefi. "We eat arepas all day, but the special moment is breakfast."
For many Ballarat locals, a visit to A Pot of Courage is their first time tasting Colombia's favourite breakfast. Other South Americans living in Australia go out of their way to eat arepas. There's also Vietnamese lemongrass chicken, homemade spanakopita and Bangladeshi dhal on the menu.
Whether you're Anglo Australian, Aboriginal or Persian, it doesn't matter – there's a place for you here.
In her former job at Women's Health Grampians, Pilkinton would meet with 14 women every week to discuss gender equity, support services and the prevention of violence against women. All of them would bring food.
"I used to say I get to go to the best cafe every Thursday because there would often be dishes from 14 different cultures. Now everyone can experience it," says Pilkinton.
She tired of hearing horror stories of discrimination and job rejection from the women and decided to brainstorm how to turn their cooking skills into income, with the group's help. The result was a cookbook published in 2018 called It Takes Courage. A pop-up followed, with people lining up for the area's best banh mi.
When Pilkinton began a new job in the Barkly Square precinct, a former secondary school campus with an uninspiring cafe downstairs, she struck a deal for her Thursday women's group to take over the space.
There's a place for everyone at A Pot of Courage cafe. Source: Supplied
A Pot of Courage opened at the start of February 2020; six weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic put a halt on dining in. To survive, they launched Latin American home banquets and Malaysian street food deliveries. The silver lining was huge growth in A Pot of Courage's database, which meant that by the time hospitality venues could open for dine-in once more, people were flocking to the cafe.
"We have trained and employed 30 mostly marginalised people who were isolated, had no financial independence, who were really itching to share their culture through their food – and be paid for it," says Pilkinton.
Some of the women have since gone on to set up their own side businesses, bottling traditional condiments and serving their national food at the Ballarat Farmer's Market. The cafe pulses with community support, from selling local art on the walls to a pay-it-forward initiative.
"We call it an intercultural cafe because it's more active than a multicultural cafe," says Pilkinton. "Whether you're Anglo Australian, Aboriginal or Persian, it doesn't matter – there's a place for you here."
Barkly Square, 25-39 Barkly St
Ballarat East, Victoria
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