Market St is something different for the Gouger Street precinct. It is a sophisticated food business that has evolved from a simple cheese stall which opened at the Central Market more than 20 years ago.
The owner of that cheese stall, Peter Heaney, has grown the business into a large streamlined group which now retails and wholesales local and imported cheeses, a range of artisan sourdough breads and pastries using a 20-year-old grape yeast starter, and exclusive gourmet products.
Artisan sourdough bread. Photo: Nat Rogers/InDaily
Heaney’s Washed Rind Group is operated from a central headquarters in Wright Street and encompasses two cheese stalls (Say Cheese and Smelly Cheese) and a sourdough bread stall (Dough) in the Central Market, a cheese kiosk (Cheese Co) at Westfield West Lakes, a wholesale division (Say Cheese Wholesale), and a distributor arm (Cheese Culture) that takes care of all the logistics.
“Market St is something Peter has always wanted to do,” says Washed Rind Group’s general manager, Dianna Battistella (ex Magill Estate). “It’s his brainchild; it’s been progressing this way for some time.”
Located just off Gouger Street in the old Wilsons Organics premises opposite SA Biryani House on Market Street, Market St is a bakery, a grocery store and a café.
Grocery lines. Photo: Nat Rogers/InDaily
From the outside, the red-brick building is ordinary, but inside the vibe is both comforting and edgy, with magazines, cornflakes and baked beans sitting alongside the best imported maple syrup and nougat. Most of the interior is taken up with the open kitchen and bakery, which now produces the bulk of the sourdough bread and pastries for Washed Rind’s retail and wholesale outlets. You can see the chefs at work and what they produce as it comes out of the kitchen and is arranged on the shelves or placed in front of diners.
The chefs have access to some of the best ingredients to work with, not only through the Washed Rind Group, but also from the company’s long-standing relationships with and proximity to the Central Markets’ fishmongers, butchers, and fruit and vegetable stalls.
The open kitchen. Photo: Nat Rogers/InDaily
Market St prices may look to be on the steep side for a cafe, but they are more than justified by the generosity on the plate and the amount of thought given to each dish by head chef David Gasparini (ex Lion Hotel and Brompton Hotel).
The cafe is open for breakfast and lunch from Monday to Saturday, but Battistella says there are plans to open on Sundays by spring.
In the warmer months, the floor-to-ceiling windows at the front of Market St open fully to the street. And Battistella says that an application has gone in to council to replace two of the parking spaces with a parklet.
Market St is currently unlicensed, but did we see a twinkle in her eye when dinner and drinks were mentioned?
Caramelised onion and goat cheese tart. Photo: Nat Rogers/InDaily
Favourite dishes: Caramelised onion and goat cheese tart ($16.90). A generous tranche of tender goat cheese custard set in caramelised onions and encased in buttery, flaky pastry is served with a puree of roasted cauliflower and truffle sprinkled with candied walnuts and topped with fresh apple salad.
Dukkah-crusted haloumi ($16.90). Large wedges of fried haloumi are coated in an assortment of seeds including sesame, sunflower, coriander and cumin, and served with a grilled radicchio salad, roasted grapes, beetroot, pine nuts, pomegranate, micro herbs and pita chips.
Dukkah-crusted haloumi. Photo: Nat Rogers/InDaily
Poached chicken salad ($17.90). Delicate pieces of poached pulled chicken is served with steamed whole green beans, peas, white anchovies, Kalamata dirt, fried potato slices, blue cheese discs, fennel, mint and fried prosciutto in a warm vinaigrette.
Other dishes: When InDaily visited the soup special was potato, chorizo and cannellini bean ($11.90), the fish of the day was chilli, prawn and snapper spaghetti ($21.90), and the toastie of the day was grilled chicken and mushroom with fontina cheese and smoky BBQ sauce ($12).
S.O.S. juice. Photo: Nat Rogers/InDaily
Something sweet/to drink: The counters and glass cabinets are laden with tempting cakes and patisserie. The coffee is from local roaster D’Angelo coffee and comes in all the expected forms as well as single-origin cold brew (“brewed between 8-12 hours for a sweeter less acidic coffee”) and freshly brewed single-origin filter coffee. Also available are Blooming Teas, which combine herbal flowers with high-grade green tea. InDaily chose the S.O.S juice, a blend of fresh orange, beetroot, pineapple, carrot, lemon, ginger and mint. It looked like a Berocca in a wine glass and it surely had the same effect.
Market St
Open Monday to Saturday from 7am
11 Market Street, Adelaide 82315014
