The ongoing partnership between The Disability Trust and HammondCare has broken new ground with the launch of The Plant Room café in Hammondville.
Under the expert guidance of renowned chef Lorenzo Pagnan, the cafe at HammondCare’s flagship aged care home offers barista-made coffee and quality fresh food for residents, visiting loved ones, staff and the community.
Hammondville, first established as a housing project for destitute families by Rev Bob Hammond in 1932, is home to one of the largest number of dementia-specific residential care beds in Australia, as well as frail aged residents and nearly 130 residents in independent living units.
The new café builds on the successful launch of The Plant Room Café at HammondCare’s Horsley dementia care village in October 2023. The co-location of a café for supported workers in a dementia care village was an Australian first.
The Disability Trust opened the original Plant Room café at its Spring Hill offices in 2019 and the social enterprise has gone from strength to strength.
Tim, Emily and Oliver are three of the supported employees who have thrived as members of The Plant Room café team.
“What I like about working at The Plant Room is seeing all the happy customers and staff,” Tim said. “I love working as a team and hanging out with my friends.
“My favourite thing to make is the burgers. The secret to making a good burger is the good sauce.”
Emily added: “I love the café because I love my teammates, making coffees and giving them to the customers.
“My favourite thing on the menu is nachos because I like sour cream and guacamole.”
Oliver said it was great to work at The Plant Room because “the customers are so nice and the food is so good”.
“At the café I serve customers, I help make coffees, I do the register sometimes and I clean up the tables,” he said.
“I make the caramel slice, the mixture, broken cookies and the chocolate on top.
“We do the best hot chocolates, especially with marshmallows.”
The Disability Trust’s Chief Operating Officer – Employment & Enterprises Mathew McIntyre said The Plant Room is a “place of purpose”.
“The Plant Room will now create 30 disability employment opportunities. That in itself is a really exciting milestone but most importantly and what we’re proud about is that we’re committed to working for each and every one of those individuals to orchestrate their individual pathway, to bring their goals and ambitions to life.
“It’s a really exciting time.
“We’ve got a fantastic partnership with HammondCare. The new café opportunity came off the back of the success we’ve had at Horsley, the impact it’s having and the way it’s embedded itself in the community.
“The history of Hammondville is all about bringing the community together and supporting people so it’s a natural opportunity for The Disability Trust.
“The Disability Trust’s philosophy is to create a more inclusive world through employees and customers alike having a fantastic experience.
“Our goal with this venture is to develop the skills and experience of our supported employees so they can pursue open employment in the hospitality industry, should they choose to do so, and to maximise the chances of that transition being a great experience for them and their future employers.”
HammondCare CEO Andrew Thorburn, together with The Disability Trust’s Acting Chief Executive Officer Tarryn Bracken officially opened the Hammondville Plant Room Café at the launch event last week with residents and employees of both organisations joining in the festivities.
Hammondville, with its long history of supporting people in need is an ideal location for a café with great coffee and menu offerings that also helps people with disability learn skills and experience, Mr Thorburn said.
“We are delighted that a wonderful venture like this that can change the lives of supported employees will be part of our Hammondville community,” he said.
“With this café, there is a wonderful alignment of HammondCare’s Mission and Values with those of The Disability Trust. We know from our experience working with The Disability Trust organisation at Horsley that this will be another big success story.”
Chef Lorenzo Pagnan, who has previously run renowned Illawarra restaurants such as Ristorante Due Mezzi, Sweet Lips and The Cheeky Fig, said The Plant Room’s signature chicken schnitzel wrap will be a popular option on the menu. The wrap is comprised of a schnitzel with fresh cabbage, carrot, coriander with a Mexican salsa.
“The cabbage gives it a real crunch. It’s got a real Asian flavour to it,” he said.
Before joining the team, supported employees outline their goals, including where they’d like to be in 12-18 months. They are also trained in how to engage sensitively with people living with dementia when they are working at Horsley and Hammondville.
The Plant Room Café at Hammondville is open for coffee, snacks and meals, Monday – Saturday from 8am until 3pm. Everyone is welcome.
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