Discover the heart of Westfield North Lakes with our Meet your Local series. We will take you on a journey to meet the people in our stores and learn more about what they offer the North Lakes community.

With the recent opening of Salt by Café One, we sat down with Melissa the General Manager. Melissa not only gave us the inside scoop for great coffee and delicious banana bread, she also told us about some signature dishes customers can look forward to. Read on to learn more!

Q1: What is your role and how long have you been operating Salt by Café One?

My name Melissa and I am the General Manager for Salt by Café One. I have worked with the company for 4 and a half years.

Q2: What type of coffee beans do you use and what is the trick to make the perfect cup of coffee?

At Salt by Café One we are using a Merlo Single Origin Columbian roast and offer the Merlo Bean of the Month. The Bean of the Month for September is Ganung Batur and is an Indonesian bean. It is grown at high altitudes in volcanic soil and is well rounded with flavour profiles of apricot, raspberry and even a hint of chilli pepper.

The trick to the perfect coffee is freshly ground beans, rich crema, perfectly textured milk at the right temperature and precision pouring to achieve the perfect blend of espresso and milk.

Q3: What inspired your modern and creative menu? How have you stayed true to your culinary roots?

Our founder Renee’s passion for food and desire to bring a modern twist to traditional café food, combined with our Kitchen Manager Tarun’s culinary expertise, is the inspiration behind the menu. We continue to stick with classics but with a modern twist and make a vast majority of our items in house.

Q4: What is your favourite item on the menu that new customers must try?

My favourite menu item is our Mexican chicken tacos and Mexican salad bowl with chicken. We make the seasoning and marinade for the chicken in house. Our Mexican salad bowl has quinoa, black beans, fresh house made salsa, sweet corn, freshly made guacamole, corn chips and chipotle aioli with a choice of Mexican chicken or grilled halloumi. My favourite is Mexican chicken and I always look forward to eating this wholesome and filling salad which never fails in its freshness and taste.

Q5: How do you choose your Chef’s Specials?

At Salt by Café One our Chef Tarun's specials are seasonal. Currently we have our house made pumpkin soup with garlic bread and 2 tacos with Mexican chicken, fish or savoury mince.

Q6: The Salt by Café One slogan is “consistency at its finest”. How do you ensure your cafe brings consistency to your high-quality food and customer service?

We value our customers experience and want our customers to have the same experience and quality with each visit. We achieve this through our fabulous staff and training and developing each staff member's skills. We are consistently tasting our food and coffee to ensure consistency in quality and flavour. We collaborate with our suppliers with training and development, and ensure we are consistently receiving quality ingredients.

Q7: What are some of the signature dishes or beverages that customers can look forward to?

Our signature chips with our house made seasoning is what we are known for. You will soon be able to buy our OG chip seasoning to take home and sprinkle on your chips or meat at home. Our signature hash meal comes with a choice of bacon or halloumi and a side of hash browns, poached eggs, hummus, fresh avocado, fried shallots and house made relish is a twist on a classic breakfast dish that is a must try for brunch.

I personally am a fan of our Merlo Bean of the Month and customers should get a coffee made with Ganung Bator. With the weather warming up, our iced latte is also something to look forward to.

Q8: Your team make everything from scratch. Are there any tips for aspiring bakers when attempting cakes and slices like your delicious banana bread?

We can't give away all our secrets! However, my top tips are to always use fresh ingredients and taste what is already available in the market. We have tasted many banana breads over the years to get the right banana bread for us and one of the best tips is to use a whole bunch of real bananas.

Head in store and meet the team at Salt by Café One North Lakes, located near JB Hi-Fi Home. Find out more here.