The Garden Shed Nursery and Cafe
Not in a million years would I thought I’d be heading to a Garden Nursery for a 🥧 and a review, but the one thing the last 2 years of COVID has taught me was to expect the unexpected and this review and location was totally unexpected. Like most places I visit, this place was on recommendation by one of my followers. I was sent a picture of this beast of a 🥧 and OMG my mouth was instantly watering. I picked up the phone and started making enquirers about lining up a review. About 30mins later I was on the blower chatting to Dave Hunchy the owner of The Garden Shed Nursery and Cafe and we arranged to meet.
The Garden Shed Nursery and Cafe is located at Flaxton which is in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland. Yes this is place is a actually a nursery. The nursery itself has been operating for a number of years, and just over 12 months they relocated from Palmwoods up the hill to Flaxton. With the new location Dave wanted to create an experience where visitors can come to his tranquil paradise, enjoy home style quality food, relax and enjoy the views.
Owner Dave isn’t a chef or baker but a agronomist, however he has a serious passion for food and cooking. Everything in this cafe is home made and all ingredients sourced from all over the local area. For a small cafe the food on offer is quite extensive. But I was here for Dave’s 🥧 of the month and it was time to get started.
There is only one flavored 🥧 available on the cafe’s menu at any one time. Dave and his staff are always coming up with new and exciting ingredients to put into 🥧’s. This month crazy creation is the “Buffalo 🥧”
🥧THE REVIEW 🥧
1. Value for Money – $9 is certainly up there, but this 🥧 was huge and weighed almost 400 grams. It’s also served with a side of fresh garden salad and a tomato relish sauce (there was no way I was putting sauce on this marvelous creation) overall this 🥧 and salad was very filling and terrific value for money. This is a full blown meal. 9.5/10
2. Meat Ratio – COMPLETELY FULL !!! As Forrest Gump famously said “That’s all I’ve got to say about that” 10/10
3. Meat Flavour – I don’t know where to start. The Buffalo meat was fine and extremely tender (sourced from a local Buffalo farm) The double smoked bacon was exceptional and was perfectly littered throughout the 🥧. The four cheeses (cheddar, parmesan, american jack & mozzarella) was insane !!! To top it off Dave adds oregano, tomato, salt pepper and a smidge of Vegemite !!!! Yes Vegemite !!!! The sauce tasted like a bolognese but was actually a tomato gravy. The flavor was unbelievable !!! 10/10
4. Pastry – Colour, top bake, shape, stability all ✅ perfect !!!! The flavor was also perfect ✅. Unfortunately one side and the bottom bake was undercooked (photos will indicate) it’s a fine line but this was the only negative aspect about this pasty. 9.5/10
5. Serving Temperature – Excellent, Dave nailed this one. 10/10
Overall Rating
🥧🥧 49/50 🥧🥧
Apart from the slightly undercooked base, this 🥧 was almost a perfect score. The $9 price tag shouldn’t be a worry, the 🥧 was massive and served with a beautiful side. The temp and meat ratio was perfect but the flavor was the clear winner and by the length of the Flemington straight as well, it was incredible.
If you want one of the best flavored 🥧’s ever you’ve gotta get to this place !!! Open everyday except Monday’s you won’t be disappointed, but get their early as they will run out the door very quickly.
Dave a huge thanks for having me in and showing me around. Covid has hit this business pretty hard. The whole area relies heavy on the passing tourists, with borders closed for a long period and Covid causing havoc of late the numbers are not passing through like days passed. So if your in the area, please stop in grab a bite.
Maleny, Flaxton, Montville and Mapleton are a must visit area. It’s one of the most scenic and picturesque drives you will every do, and the views are amazing with plenty of places to stop. These little towns and communities have so much on offer from nurseries, brewery’s and countless quirky shops you’d wanna give yourself plenty of time to see everything.
