For Eduardo Ribeiro de Rezende, Chef at Village Café in Alan Walker Village, food provides an opportunity for people to connect. And that’s what drives his passion to cook, a skill passed down through his family.
“I was born in Brazil with an Italian background,” he says. “My family back there, they run a business focusing on pasta and fresh products, handmade things. They craft and prepare everything there and they sell it. Basically, it was my first job. All my family cook and I do the same.”
Joining Wesley Mission in 2023, Eduardo has already made a positive impact on residents, staff and visiting families, reinvigorating the dining room into the thriving Village Cafe. And he says there’s more to come.
Making a change
For 15 years, Eduardo had been working in fast-paced fine dining restaurants. But a personal loss inspired him to make a change.
“My mum passed away,” he says. “I was here [in Australia] and it was a moment to go back. So, I went to visit Brazil after five years straight.
“I was thinking what I was going to do. You know, I’ve worked in fine dining restaurants and it’s all pressure. I started to question why I’m here. I thought, ‘why do this job?’.
“It wasn’t having the same meaning to me anymore. If you get deep into that, you’re going to hate what you do and then the passion is gone. You can’t cook without passion.”
Eduardo knew he wanted to make a change, so he started working with an agency.
“I didn’t want to come back to my old place. I wanted to start something new,” he continues. “I started to work for agencies, and they put me in these aged care and hospital jobs I wanted. And one of the shifts I got was here.”
Even from his first shift, Eduardo felt there was something different about working for Wesley Mission.
“I changed my ways, and I think this place drives me on,” he says. “Most of the people who work here are looking for meaning and are trying not to do just for doing.
“It’s something you just feel that everybody has that nobody understands. But some places have this different connectivity and something that we all share. I don’t know if I’m being too magical or too mystical, but I feel this is that sort of place.”
After a few shifts, Eduardo approached Village Manager, Tony Cassidy, with some ideas about how to maximise the facilities already in place.
“I saw the layout of the kitchen and I [thought] ‘we could have a different operation here and be serving way better food’.
“We kind of had a similar vision about what could be done. I wanted to change the way things were going and that’s how it started.
A new style
With a renewed outlook, Eduardo has enjoyed reinventing the Village Café’s offering.
“I work with one person directly and basically it’s like a two-man army doing all the jobs,” he says. “I started slowly, to introduce people and let them know which style I have.”
And with such a vibrant family heritage, Eduardo’s style can only be described a melting pot of culture and flavour.
“I’m a fusion between Italian and South American food, specifically Brazilian food,” he says. “And of course, I’m here in Australia. So, it’s like a kind of juggling with these styles and places.
“What I’m trying to do is cook honest food with fresh ingredients and things that I know well. We work with local ingredients. I know they’re fresh and I like to make people enjoy it.”
Eduardo says it’s also about being sustainable and maintaining a cycle of buying and serving fresh produce.
“We have a solid menu with good options, and everything is constantly changing,” he says. “You’re also getting good quality food for a good price. I really try not to overprice. I think in many other places, you would pay much more for way less.”
Sustaining the soul
Eduardo has always known the value of good food, but it was never as clear as when he worked causal shifts in palliative care after his return to Australia.
“At most of the places I worked, 90 per cent [of the food] was from out of boxes. I saw all that processed food, and everything is very rich in salt and very rich in fat and sugar,” he says. “I realised that they are eating very badly, and I was thinking ‘how come this sector is being abandoned?’.”
Eduardo says many of the people he served in palliative care could no longer enjoy the act of sitting down and choosing their own meal.
“I don’t want to be getting close to the end of my life and eating the worst food possible,” he continues.
“I feel like the universe put me here and I just took the chance to keep seeing and sensing what I can do. And food is part of that. So, I found a reason to keep cooking.”
For Eduardo, cooking is how he understands his life and himself as a person.
“It’s connected,” he says. “It’s completely, completely connected to everybody. Sometimes all we have is a moment.
“The last time I saw my mum was in an airport. So, I use my personal experience and I try to see through other people’s perspectives. I try to do something with my work to provide another moment, another chance – because any moment could be the last.
“The food is just a vehicle. Being human is about collecting and providing moments.”
An open invitation
While Eduardo’s main focus is residents, he wants everyone to feel welcome to share a moment at the café.
“People need to come and support us, because otherwise we’re going to be bored,” he says with a laugh. “I’ve been seeing more people here, like more family members, but not many as I want. [We] have good options for children and all kinds of people.”
Eduardo says it’s important that residents feel safe and can trust what’s being served to them, so they feel comfortable to invite their friends and family.
“I want to be able to provide a reason to make people see their parents and stay a little bit longer and have food with them… have good experience,” he says. “I put people together to enjoy the food. That’s basically why I do what I do.”
Eduardo also has a ‘special’ piece of advice for anyone visiting the Village Café.
“My food and the menu items are constantly changing, so I recommend people ask for the specials,” he says. “Maybe it’s going to be a BBQ? Or you might get noodles.
“Basically, come and see me and [ask] ‘what’s the special today?’.”
The café is open to residents, visiting families, staff and the wider community from 8am to 2.30pm for breakfast, brunch, lunch and coffee.
