FEEL-GOOD SOCIAL SERVICE

From the moment social enterprise Two Good Co sent out the first salad jars they’ve been focused on empowering women. Now, they continue their cause with a new café in Darlinghurst. While it’s a neat spot to grab a coffee, warm up with a golden toastie or sit back with a bowl of soup, it’s just a slice of their presence at Yirranma Place. “Originally there was a tender just to do the café – and we thought why not do the whole food and beverage service for the building, the catering and the concierge,” says Two Good Co founder Rob Caslick.

Ahead of taking on the task, Caslick called upon the team at QT Hotel for advice on how to make the experience work. “I was speaking with the manager at QT Sydney and I asked, ‘How do you approach doing a concierge service?’ and, in a Yoda-like way, he said, ‘Let your values guide you’.” And with this advice, Two Good Co created Goodcierge.

It ties into Two Good’s Work Work training program and is the second step for women to hone their hospitality skills by undertaking paid on-the-job training.

Alongside the concierge service, Two Good Co prepares nourishing, chef-inspired meals for the teams in the building, which is home to the Paul Ramsay Foundation, where social enterprises and not-for-profits can rent space or work in incubators. The rotating chef-designed menu might feature a smoked chicken caesar salad with asparagus and horseradish by Matt Moran; or a gluten-free berry almond coconut cake by Belinda Jeffery. “We’ve had these relationships since we started making Two Good’s original salad jars,” says Caslick.

Like the Goodcierge, the Two Good Café employs vunerable women in a bid to rebuild self-worth and independence, and help break the cycle of disadvantage. “The people who are working here are taking care of other people, so there’s a sense of empowerment,” explains Caslick. “And people are coming back, knowing that something bigger is going on.”

262 Liverpool Street, Darlinghurst, NSW, twogood.com.au