The Community Café Treating Mparntwe Good
Looking for a peaceful, protein-packed brunch spot in Alice Springs? Only a few minutes out of town is the new Treat Me Good Café, offering made-to-order nourish bowls, salads, smoothies, and more.
By Betty Sweetlove
LOCATED AT THE beautiful Desert Knowledge Precinct, the café is quickly becoming a hub for delicious food with a restful, out-of-town atmosphere. Open weekdays, the menu dishes out whole foods seasoned with Mediterranean and Polynesian influences.
“We do a lot of fresh things, with a twist on Mediterranean-inspired foods, because that's my favourite, and it just plays around with a lot of fresh flavours,” says owner and founder, Shahnie.
“Then we have our own spin on it – a Polynesian spin on a few things. We try and focus as much as we can on doing a complete plate, which would have protein, fat, carbs, fibre, and veg,” she says.
Their signature souvlaki includes a protein of choice loaded up with crunchy salads, fries and sauces. Brekkie rolls come packed with fried wombok and fresh sauerkraut, with vegan kimchi and roasted seaweed topping off their plentiful nourish bowls.
Good food and doing good for others go hand in hand at this unique café. Every purchase enables Treat Me Good Mparntwe to provide catering to those in need, nourishing the community via the universal language of food.
“If you’re in food, you have a love for people, you know, that’s your love language. You don’t have to speak the same verbal language as somebody. Someone’s belly is full, they know that that’s love. That’s kind of how we see ourselves,” says Shahnie.
“We’re there to help, with hardship, with challenges with food. You can approach us, and we can help out, and we’ve done that for many, many families and individuals in the community from all backgrounds. We’ve been there in times of mourning and grief, and then we've been there in times of new life as well.”
With volunteers wanted for their annual Christmas lunch, there’s an abundance of ways to get involved in this new hub. Next time you’re in need of a well-balanced brekkie, head out to Desert Knowledge where you’ll be sure that your delicious plate is paying it forward.
“Maybe you might meet new people. Maybe you might bump into old friends, or people that you pass every day.”
