Eating clean, living lean: Countdown to Paleo Townsville

As Townsville’s first Paleo cafe prepares to swing open its doors on Wednesday, franchisee and ex-farmer Kymbo Westcott’s vision is two-fold: Inspiring and fuelling people while nourishing the city heart.

Located in the new City Lane precinct between Flinders and Sturt Streets, Paleo Cafe Townsville is certainly in a prime position to take advantage of the curiosity surrounding the new laneway development and feed the snowballing interest in paleo. “My vision is to bring a new lease of life to the CBD through City Lane, but also build a family,” explains Kymbo. “We want people to engage with each other across all different areas of wellbeing.”

So what is paleo exactly? “There’s no preservatives and it’s about eating clean and living lean,” Kymbo says, with food having always been a big part of his life since growing up on a cattle property three hours north of Longreach, helping with the family supermarket, then working in hospitality all over the world. “The focus is on eating whole, unprocessed foods like grass-fed meat, free range poultry, wild fish, vegetables, fruit, berries, some nuts and seeds and avoiding grains and refined sugars.”

While Kymbo discovered paleo after suffering with bloating and lack of energy, he admits he is certainly not perfect. “When I go back to the property to help Mum and Dad with the cattle I can never refuse one of Mum’s scones or the chocolate sauce she makes, but I do go into a bit of a food coma after, and get straight back into my own eating system when I get home,” says the 35-year-old. “We are not going to be standing on our soap box and lecturing customers, but just providing them with some alternatives so they can do the best they can — the last thing we want to do is set people up for failure.”

So what’s the signature dish at Paleo Cafe? “The lamb burger!” says Kymbo. But it’s not your standard meat slab slapped into a bun. Picture this: a tender lamb pattie on linseed foccacia with mint aioli, rocket, tomato, onion, avocado and gherkin topped with beetroot relish served with sweet potato chips and aioli. “The ingredients are not organic, but they are locally sourced where possible, which is something we’ll continue to build on as we find our feet.”

Kymbo’s vision also includes educating staff through regular talks from suppliers and other experts in the food and health industry; even mental health. “When you look at wellness, eating is one link in the chain, but then there’s getting active and making sure you have a healthy mind,” says Kymbo. “They all link together and we hope to pass on some of that knowledge to customers and build a community through wholesome food.”