Shop fresh

I was invited to tour Zone Fresh at Portside last week and got a first hand look at the produce. There were some truly delicious strawberries from the Sunshine Coast which had that just picked smell and flavour and some new season Kensington Pride mangoes from the Northern Territory.

Zone Fresh is a great place to get those not-so-easy to find things, like palm sugar, when you just have to make that new Thai recipe. They have a good range of fresh produce including carambolas, sweet golden kwiwi fruit and fresh berries. There's also fresh asparagus that doesn't come from Peru like the stuff on the shelves at Woolies. And there's a good range of gourmet mushrooms - essential for some of Kylie Kwong's recipes.

Best of all for those with little spare time, is the butcher which specialises in pre-prepared meals. Biggest seller at Portside is the steaks but at The Gap and Windsor they like the roasts - go figure!

Basically, if you're stuck for an ingredient. Zone Fresh is a good place to look. It's also good for a wide range of deli items and everyday staples. Really a one-stop shop that's a lot nicer than a supermarket. Make my day Zone Fresh and open in the new Petrie Terrace Police Barracks development - pleeese!

Update: Zone Fresh is now just at Windsor and Aspley www.zonefresh.com.au