Daily Food Co.

Music festivals are a place to make memories, throw yourself into things and release your inhibitions, while all of this was true for Stuart Irwin and Liz Gant, Rainbow Serpent Festival also served as the beginnings of their working relationship.
“We did Rainbow Serpent Festival together,” Liz adds with a cheeky grin to Stuart.
“That’s where it all sort of began,” Stuart adds. “It’s just non-stop from the morning until the evening. It really can be fun especially if you’ve friends there and once you’ve closed you can sort of put up your own private kitchen and have your own private party.”
“And you never know what disaster or problem solving opportunity will come up either and we’re both problem solvers so that’s probably our biggest strength. We’ve never had we couldn’t fix. We’re adrenaline junkies,” Liz says.
Both with a love of music, food and fast-paced work, the festival quickly ignited their pathway into catering. Since then the business partners made the move to Geelong after working in a catering company in Melbourne for a number of years.
Their move to the region also welcomed the addition of their food van, which currently sits happily in a vacant block on Pakington Street and brings a focus on creating healthy takeaway options to the area.
There’s even the plan to create a 12-day clean eating detox for those wanting to rid their body of toxins, an idea that stemmed from frequent questions from customers.
“A lot of people kept coming off the street and asking us what they can do to make themselves feel better when they’re overloading on carbs,” Liz says.
Far from a one-trick wonder, the food truck also caters for TV productions – with Reno Rumble and The Block shows they’ve previously catered for – engagements parties, events and the occasional festival.
“There’s a bit of a gap down here in the market for cool catering that’s a bit trendy,” Liz says.
“We’re just trying to avoid that sit-down service, our stuff you can obviously sit down and eat it as well, but it’s a bit more casual than that,” Stuart says.
Alongside their passion for catering, their love of food was always present, and both have proven to be a huge factor in their lives.
“Every party we had we always ended up in the kitchen,” Liz adds with a laugh.
“Even when we weren’t cooking we ended up sitting in the kitchen. We love a feast with friends and a feast banquet where you all get together and there’s lots of wine, beer and amazing food.”
While food is a passion, the duo are even more passionate about being able to source their ingredients locally to make it all happen, with meat from Siketa butchers and bread from Pane di Matteo.
“We’ve got main suppliers locally and we try to get as much local produce as we can. My parents have got an amazing organic vegetable patch in Point Lonsdale – it’s huge. So we actually get our really fresh produce from their gardens as well. If you see a lot of pictures on Instagram about us getting vegies from the vegie patch they’re often from there,” he says.
A local supplier they share a similar passion with are the boys from Pane di Matteo in Highton. “They’re excited by what they do and that gets you excited too. We love dealing with people like that,” Stuart says.
Pane di Matteo shared such a passion that they stayed up late making 5cm dinner rolls to put in lunch boxes for The Block production staff the next day. A last minute decision that was successfully executed – an ode to their problem solving abilities.
“It’s amazing how sometimes we’ve had to substitute products on the fly when we’ve had busy days, and then something really cool will come to us. The main thing is just trying to remember it, so we jot it down…” Stuart says.
“And chuck it in the register,” Liz adds with a laugh.
A huge part of what makes the Daily Food Co. process work, is the underlying faith both Stuart and Liz have, which stems hugely from their friendship of over 20 years.
“We’ve both got faith in each other too, so if she wants to take care of something then bang it’s done and I don’t have to worry about it. I know she’s going to do a good job and vice versa. We’re really confident in each others abilities,” Stuart says.
You can find the Daily Food Co. at 334 Pakington St, but be sure to follow them on Instagram (@dailyfoodco) and on Facebook (www.facebook.com/pages/Daily-Food-Co/) to keep up to date with their rotating menu and general happenings.
Written by Amanda Sherring