Savvy starter cooks up top food concept

Geraldton residents are now able to have meals delivered to their house from a variety of restaurants and cafes after Foodvana launched earlier this year.

Using a similar model to that of metropolitan-based Uber Eats, the locally owned Foodvana places food orders on behalf of the customer and then collects and delivers the meal for a fee.

Since opening in mid-January, the Foodvana team delivers seven days a week for lunch and dinner, travelling a maximum distance of 20km from point of pick-up.

Owner Mark Gould, who has lived in Geraldton since 2005, said he wished the option to have meals delivered was available for more restaurants.

After finding out the service was available in metropolitan areas, Mr Gould said he could not see why it wouldn’t work in a regional area like Geraldton.

“Geraldton always gets left behind — by the time something new comes to Geraldton, it’s already been in the city 10 years,” he said.

“I wanted to bring some of that modern-day convenience to the regional areas as well.

“There’s a lot of smart and creative people in this town. We don’t have to wait, we can create it here ourselves.”

Mr Gould first got the idea for Foodvana in 2015, but it wasn’t until the end of last year that he and second-in-charge Nicole Davis got the ball rolling.

In just a few months, their team has already expanded to 16 staff members.

Although they do not handle the food, all staff have completed food- handling safety courses and are licensed with food transportation certificates through the City of Greater Geraldton.

With most local eateries signed on with Foodvana, Mr Gould said takeaway food no longer had to be an unhealthy option.

“People have this connotation or stigma that takeaway is a treat because it’s not necessarily nutritious, which is a bit outdated now,” he said. “There’s so much good takeaway food that’s nutritious, probably more so than you can make yourself.

“We’re trying to let people know they don’t have to settle for a plain, old sandwich for lunch.

“There are some good, affordable and healthy options out there.”

Mr Gould would eventually like to expand Foodvana outside of Geraldton.