Update: May 2018 – this company is now known as Home Slice Co.
*I was invited to sample a box of goodies by Buddhaโs Kitchen Co, however all opinions are my own.
Buddhaโs Kitchen Co was established in June 2016, and has been supplying Canberra with various bagels, schmears and banana breads. A lot of the products are vegan and Iโm told that this is purely because vegan often tastes better! We met with Buddhaโs Kitchen Co at the Old Bus Depot Markets in Kingston early in the morning before it got too busy. There was already a bit of a crowd around the stall sampling the goods on offer. What caught my eye was the maple vanilla whipped butter! It sounded fantastic.
My box of goodies consisted of the cappuccino bagel, the โeverythingโ bagel covered with toasted poppy seeds, the vanilla maple whipped butter, the vegan version of the vanilla maple, the Nutella whipped butter, the tomato and capsicum cream cheese, the blueberry and ricotta banana bread, and the pear and almond banana bread.
We were also kindly provided with some toasted breakfast bagels. We decided to share the blueberry bagel, where I chose the maple vanilla whipped butter on my half (this combination was recommended to us), and J chose the Nutella butter on his half. We took this home with us, and I was surprised that the toasted bagels were still warm. I just loved the crunch of the bagel when I bit into it. Though it was quite thick, the bagel wasnโt too dense. The blueberries were warm and gooey, and the maple vanilla whipped butter added just a nice hit of vanilla sweetness on top. Very satisfying. J found the Nutella butter too sweet on the already sweet blueberry bagel. I had to agree but it really depends on your taste.
The Nutella butter was really soft and mousse-like.
I used my Nutella butter and spread that over the cappuccino bagel. Now that was a great combination. Chocolate and coffee, just like a mocha. I also toasted it so it had that lovely crunchy end. I think I would actually add the real Nutella to the bagel next time for that extra chocolate and hazelnut hit.
I had the โeverything bagelโ for dinner spreading the sun dried tomato schmear on both sides and added some smoked salmon. I couldnโt really taste the tomatoes in the schmear, even without the salmon.
The blueberry and ricotta banana bread was just divine straight out of the packet. It was wonderfully moist and I could taste the even amount of banana and blueberries in the mix. The ricotta had been baked in on top and the bits I could sink my teeth into were very subtle. I had another slice the next day and heated it up in the microwave. SO good! The pear and flaked almond banana bread was a little bit denser cold, but great when warmed up. I loved the softly stewed chunks of pear towards the bottom and the chopped almonds throughout the bread. If you want to truly indulge, you can smear some of the maple vanilla whipped butter on top!
Bagels start at $3.50 for one, $12 for four, $17 for six, and $27 for a dozen. The vegan bagels include cracked pepper, the Italian, sesame seed, apple and cinnamon, salt flake paprika, blueberry and more. The only non-vegan bagels are the cheese and bacon, and the parmesan bagel.
The โnohmโ banana breads are $5-7 each and last a good three weeks. You can also freeze them. Thereโs the basic OG (old gangster) banana bread, and then different flavoured banana breads like the blueberry and ricotta, and apple and cinnamon. How good does the apple and cinnamon sound? Granny smith apples sautรฉed in coconut oil and cinnamonโฆ
The schmears and spreads include sun dried tomato, shallot, chives, smoked salmon, vanilla maple, and Nutella. Other vegan treats include the peanut Buddha cups โ peanut butter caramel in a dark Belgian chocolate shell, a peanut Buddha caramel, and zen balls โ dates and pecan truffle with Belgian dark chocolate.
Buddhaโs Kitchen Co are currently only selling at the Old Bus Depot markets from 10-4, however they are applying to get into the Capital Regional Farmers Markets at EPIC. The staff are lovely and if youโre stuck with what combination to try, they are happy to recommend their favourite combos. Or just sample the various goodies and schmears before you buy.
And just reiterating that they can toast your bagel so you can eat it warm right then and there!
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