That sweet little cafe just up the road...

18 November 2016

I'm not sure if it’s incredibly resourceful, or disgracefully lazy that my first article is on the trendy new cafe, literally 100 meters from my house. Besides that irrelevant fact, I caught up with Rodney, the proud owner of the hottest new eatery in Rosanna - Four leaves Cafe

Four Leaves is the result of a change in ownership, combined with the complete overhaul of the premisses fit-out. After a lengthy, yet expected legalities phase, a full renovation and some seriously hard work, Rod launched into his life-long dream of owning his own cafe.

Rodney himself has quite the well-travelled background, his introduction to cooking came at age 15 as an apprentice chef. Rod’s passion for all things chow then swept him off to New York, where he toiled away in the well-renowned cafe '8-mile Creek' for three years. 

The next phase of his career is somewhat a little left-field.

You're a fully qualified, internationally trained chef, do you -  A - Stay in the field/explore the opportunities of a personal venture, or B - Create a successful property maintenance business from the ground up?

Look, you probably don't need to be Horatio from CSI Miami to work this one out, purely based on the way I've worded this, of course, Rodney went for the later…

Although this choice may not seem the ideal path at first glance, Rod believes this was the most important decision of his career. Having witnessed the perils of entering the hospitality industry underprepared, a young Rodney was lured to the practicality of starting his first venture in a more manageable industry. 

Rod’s composed, yet difficult decision to steer himself temporarily away (well, 15 years) from his passion allowed him to build a successful business from the ground up. He mastered the key fundamentals of being self-employed, and along the way and learnt from his mistakes in a far less high-stakes environment.

We now look at the launch of Four Leaves Cafe back in May this year. Rod has a lifetime of experience under his belt, a serious passion for what he does, and a wonderful little establishment next to his name. 

Rodney’s tip in business -  Don't jump the gun and get over-exited. Owning your own business involves long hours, for often very little pay. It takes time and hard work to see success!

The food? I’m no food critic, but it’s freaking spot on! It’s the perfect place to wear your best active wear (despite not doing any previous exercise) and enjoy an excellent breakfast on the weekend. 

Overall, the New-York inspired menu has something for everyone, and without a doubt, the wood-fired pizzas are also a must try.

Why not go in and say hello? Or even better, follow Four-Leaves cafe on Facebook here.

https://www.facebook.com/4leavescafe/?fref=ts 

Daniel Kovac - The everything chap at Pipevine (for now)