1 March 2021

Five minutes with Tim Manning, Redbrick Coffee

| Michelle Rowe
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Canberra cafes, Redbrick, ARC

Tim Manning (second from left) with head chef Aaron Beattie, general manager Madeleine Moore and venue manager Daniel Sparrow. Photo: Rohan Thomson.

Who is Tim Manning? I’m the owner and founder of Redbrick Coffee. We launched our fifth Canberra café, ARC, this month in the new Constitution Place precinct.

Best recent dining experience: Ramen Daddy at Verity Lane in the city is one of my favourites. It’s such a unique offering and absolutely delicious. Their vegan ramen is hard to go past.

Ramen Daddy

Some of Ramen Daddy’s unique and delicious dishes at Verity Lane. Photo: Ash St George.

Most embarrassing pantry item: A jar of instant coffee my mum brought to our house a few years back. I didn’t have the heart to throw it out.

Must-buy ingredient: Good red wine.

Next big thing: Sustainability. There has been a shift in our industry towards being more sustainable and I think this is just the beginning.

Favourite place for breakfast in the ACT: Our new coffee store, ARC! Or I’ll head for 3 Degrees Coffee in Civic, Teddy Picker’s in Campbell or Redbrick Curtin for the killer vegetarian breakfast rolls that keep me fueled when I’m out and about.

My Canberra food secret: Clay in Turner is Redbrick’s little espresso bar on Northbourne Avenue and not too far from my home, so it’s my regular for Saturday morning coffee. It has such a great community vibe and it’s also a great place to sit in the sun.

Teddy Pickers cafe

Teddy Picker’s in Campbell serves killer breakfast rolls, says Tim Manning. Photo: Supplied.

Biggest culinary influence: In coffee, Mark Dundon from Seven Seeds and Fleur Studd from Melbourne Coffee Merchants and Market Lane Coffee have always been a big influence. Mark and Fleur are pioneers of specialty coffee in Australia and have started iconic coffee businesses in Melbourne and Sydney. I’ve been lucky enough to work with them both through Redbrick.

Favourite cookbook: Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi.

Who I admire on the Canberra food and wine scene: We have many talented people in hospitality in Canberra that it’s hard to single anyone out, but Ben Willis at Aubergine in Griffith and the team at Bar Rochford in the city have certainly done a lot for the city.

Aubergine restaurant

The elegant interiors at Ben Willis’s Aubergine restaurant in Griffith. Photo: Lean Timms.

What’s on the menu this week: We launched ARC with a classic omelette on the menu which I love. But the hotcakes are also hard to go past.

Where I’m going next: There are so many places in Canberra that I’m keen to visit – I’ll let you know!

Death row meal: Massaman beef from Chin Chin in Melbourne – one of my favourite meals.

ARC cafe breakfast omelette

A classic omelette is one of the menu offerings at the new ARC cafe in Constitution Place. Photo: Rohan Thomson.

My COVID-19 response: Through COVID, our first priority was looking after our team and focusing on doing what we do really well. We have been so fortunate in Canberra with how the pandemic has been managed, and the community support for our business has been amazing. We’ve also had some really interesting things evolve, like exporting our coffee to Korea and watching our Canberra business grow overseas.

My really simple recipe tip: Slow-cooked lamb and roasted cauliflower salad. Being a little bit time poor, if we need something nice for dinner, we’ll put a lamb shoulder on first thing in the morning at about 160 degrees and when we get home we have the base for a really great meal.

Redbrick Coffee opened ARC, its fifth Canberra outlet, this month at 1 Constitution Avenue in the new Constitution Place precinct. It’s open seven days a week, from 6:30 am to 4:00 pm Monday to Friday, and 7:00 am to 3:00 pm on weekends.

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