TREAT YOUR DAD
FATHER’S DAY FEASTS TASTE
THEY say a body of water that never changes is a puddle.
Huntington’s Club owner Helen Paximadas says her old cafe was stagnant in its Bundall location, but its new home in Emerald Lakes is overflowing with potential.
“I owned One Cafe in Bundall,” Helen says. “I felt a bit restricted there.
“I didn’t have a lease, I couldn’t get a liquor licence, I felt stuck. That’s why I wanted to move it.
“Bundall was a bit more grungy; here it’s beautiful. We’re right on the lake and you have beautiful views every morning.”
Helen calls it serendipity that the opportunity came up to relocate.
“I put it out to the universe that I needed a new space and somehow, by chance, my new business partners offered to come into the partnership,” she says. “So I brought in my team and we went about opening it.
“It was an already established restaurant called Lakeside Bistro.”
The new cafe, which opened last month, offers a mix of classic and sophisticated breakfast and lunch options, with some dishes taking inspiration from the Middle East.
Helen says if you’ve never tried hemp-infused food before, Huntington’s is the place to give it a go.
“I am Greek, but every now and again I get an interest in a certain cuisine,” Helen says.
“I found over the past year I’ve been drawn to that Middle Eastern type of food.
“You can do so much with it. I like clean flavours, but you still have to have flavour.
“We use a lot of hemp protein and hemp here. We have our own hemp bread, and we make flat bread out of hemp protein, and then we pan fry that and add hommus, which we make here with beetroot and zatar.
“Then we’ll have a hemp waffle with watercress, smoked trout and quail eggs.”
The classics are represented for those with more conservative cravings.
“On the other hand we have build your own breakfast, with things like bacon and scrambled eggs,” Helen says.
“We try and please everyone. There’s food for vegans, vegetarians, meat-eaters, keto. You can get whatever you want.
“We also have a cabinet with our own sweets and rolls, and we use Cats Pyjamas Coffee from Seven Miles Roasters.”
Helen is a trained chef and cut her teeth in Melbourne cafes and restaurants, but says the Gold Coast is where she’ll stay forever.
“I always am so proud of the Gold Coast, because we have done so well in terms of food and service,” Helen says.
“I don’t care what anyone says, our service is impeccable. I find that people here are genuinely happy.
“I think that it’s a lot more relaxed here. We obviously have to work, and we work as
WE’RE RIGHT ON THE LAKE AND YOU HAVE BEAUTIFUL VIEWS EVERY MORNING