FEEL-GOOD FLAVOUR

This market regular has a new Southport shop, so fans won’t have to wait to sample her home cooking, writes Sally Coates

AFTER meeting Joanna MacLellan, you won’t be able to choose what you like more: her cooking or, well, her. It could be either of those things that helped Amore Bodega evolve from a weekly Marina Mirage market to a permanent location underneath the H20 building in Southport, across the road from the Broadwater.

“I’ve been operating on the Coast for four years. I have a weekly stall out at the Marina Mirage markets and people kept saying ‘Jo! You need a shop! We want to visit more than once a week!’” she says.

“I was like ‘Uh, are you sure?’

“It took two years to find the right place. I stumbled across this spot and it’s really pretty.

“It’s urban, which I love, but it’s got such a gorgeous outlook. I love the feel and vibe. “We started small and we just … grew.”

Her Amore Bodega market stall specialises mainly in pre-made meals that change week to week. Jo makes whatever she feels like and emails the menus to a loyal and sizeable subscription list, who peruse the offerings and pick what they like.

The permanent location combines that concept with a specialty deli.

“The thing I love is I can change the menu every single week — and I do,” Jo says excitedly.

“There are categories I have every week, so there will always be a paleo dish, a chef ’s pick, in autumn it’s been an awesome autumn dish but in winter it’ll be winter warmer, there’s always a pie of the week and curry of the week, lots of soups, lots of salads, desserts.

“There’s definitely plenty to pick from and it’s all fresh and mainly gluten free with no artificial flavours or colourings. It’s healthy.”

Just to give you an idea of what Jo’s cooking, last week’s 100 per cent paleo dish was a lean pork fillet marinated in white wine, paprika, cinnamon, bay leaves and rosemary with garlic and onions, slow cooked then blended with lush sticky barbecue glaze, served on baked sweet potato, baby spinach and sweet corn, topped with caramelised red onion.

The take-home country chicken cottage pie is enough to have you drooling, with lean freerange chicken breast, lightly sauteed with leeks, blended with finely diced broccoli stems, carrots, beans, potatoes, in a light white wine cream glaze and topped with creamy potato mash.

If you’re stopping in for lunch, you’ll be treated to Jo’s Bodega lunch boxes, $10 lunches way better than whatever you packed.

Pick from the wagyu beef Korean noodle hot box, the Thai green curry hot box, gourmet frittata with fresh rustic salad box, the Persian Bodega box with Middle Eastern flavours and more, plus a range of wraps, soups and salads.

The other thing Jo is extremely proud of is the coffee, of which she has two blends — Two Seasons, and Org, Australia’s only double certified organic coffee.

So if you’re looking for good, home-cooked food that feels like a big hug, see what Amore Bodega has to offer — and there’s a good chance Jo will actually give you a big hug too.