World’s best Caesar salad in Toowoomba

IRECKON I had my first Caesar salad in the 1990s, and I’ve had at many more since. I just love them. Being a naive country boy, I assumed the salad was the brainchild of Julius Caesar and the reason he was, unfortunately, stabbed to death by his friends was that he must have got the recipe wrong one day.

I was, also, wrong when I learned Giacomo Junia invented the salad. He thew in a few pieces of cos lettuce, to add a slightly bitter taste, and called the salad Caesar after Julius, the greatest Italian of all time, apparently!

I must say, and without exception, I don’t recall having a bad Caesar and thankfully no stabbings have ensued.

However, I’ve discovered the world’s best Caesar and it’s right here in Toowoomba, at “Stellarossa” in the Bernoth Centre.

There are 24 Stellarossa franchises across Queensland and the business model was started by two mates from Bundaberg.

Stellarossa boasts quality coffee, service excellence and delicious flavours, and it ticks all those boxes.

Helaina Bench is the owner here, along with her dad Barry Bernoth, and her family has a proud history in retail and hospitality in Toowoomba.

She’s a local, educated here, gained a Bachelor of Commerce (Major in Management) at Bond University, learned her trade in Margaret Street coffee shops and began her cheffing apprenticeship at the famous Gip’s Restaurant in Russell Street.

It’s official, Stellarossa Toowoomba has the world’s best Caesar salad, but the things I like even more than that are the restaurant’s culture and its level of customer service.

Now without being disrespectful, the reputation for customer service in regional Australia isn’t that flash compared to that in capital cities. You’re more likely to be greeted with a “Youse right”? in the bush rather than a “Good morning, may I help you”? and I agree there are exceptions.

One “Tanisha”, a student nurse, who works at the restaurant has got to be the happiest, friendliest and most courteous hospitality person in the world. While I wish her well in her nursing career, and appreciate our hospitals always need more wonderful staff, I do hope she stays at Stellarossa!

Helaina added some takeaway gems including, “I like employing happy people because happy people attract happy people”, and “we have really nice customers”, and “the three main reasons more and more people go to Stellarossa are food, service and friendly staff”.

I was quite surprised to learn the most popular dish was bacon and eggs - cooked perfectly of course with a mug of “perfect” cappuccino to match. Forget it, I am sticking with Caesar salad!