6 May 2020

UPDATED: With contact-free pick up at Pialligo Estate, there's no need to miss out on your favourite fare

| Sharon Kelley
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Receive a pumpkin and coconut soup with crusty loaf with every order over $80

Receive a pumpkin and coconut soup with crusty loaf with every order over $80! Photo supplied.

UPDATE (Saturday 25 April):

Pialligo Estate has announced a special offer for RiotACT readers, use the code ‘SOUPRIOT’ to receive a free pumpkin (picked from the Estate Garden yesterday) and Coconut Soup for two with a crusty loaf! Be quick, offer ends midnight Sunday 26 April, and is valid for orders over $80.

The Pialligo Estate Grocer is open all Anzac Day long weekend. Order online anytime, and pickup between 12pm and 6 pm daily.

UPDATE April 1, 2020:

Pialligo Estate’s first week of contact-free grocery was fantastic according to the Estate’s General Manager, Scott Taylor.

“Orders have been in the thousands and we’ve had an incredible amount of support and positive feedback from the Canberra community,” says Scott.

“We have served over 1000 people our Panang Beef Curry to the point where we are struggling to keep up with supply, which is incredible!”

The Estate launched three new heat-and-eat dishes on Saturday 4 April and will have four more by Tuesday 7 April.

These new dishes include Traditional Tuscan Spaghetti Meatballs with rich tomato ragu for two, their signature dish Estate Minestrone which will have a combination of all the vegetables that are grown on the Estate, and Cantonese Pepper Beef with wagyu strip loin.

Collect all your everyday grocery needs through Pialligo’s contact-free grocery! Photo: Supplied.

If you’re grieving the loss of fine-dining establishments and unable to get essential food and grocery items from supermarkets, you’ll be pleased to know there’s no need to miss out, with a new drive-through grocer and ready meal service opening at Pialligo Estate.

As mainstream supply lines become disrupted and struggle to meet demand for essential items like toilet paper, availability and prices become unpredictable at best. In response, Pialligo Estate has chosen to retail some of those essential items (even toilet paper) at cost price.

In one incredible weekend, Pialligo Estate poured a concrete slab, put up a marquee and built a drive-through pick up centre for their online click and collect service.

Pialligo Estate General Manager Scott Taylor said he realised that the restaurant business would not be allowed to trade during the COVID-19 lockdown, and that there was an opportunity to provide a click-and-collect service for their local produce from the organic farm and their suppliers which would keep their staff employed through the crisis.

“We have local producers who are hurting because there aren’t any restaurants to supply, and we have staff who we regard as family at Pialligo. Combine the two, with a full-time food safety and sanitation officer, and you have fresh organic produce and ready meals available to order online, and pick up from our contact-free collection point.”

Pialligo Estate minestrone soup

Minestrone – a signature dish packed with the Estate’s fresh vegetables from their garden. Photo: Supplied.

On the ready-to-heat-and-eat menu is trademark Pialligo Estate fare such as the Penang beef shin peanut curry, the lamb and rosemary ragout with spaghetti, beef cheeks with a mushroom jus and polenta, and to accompany it, Estate winter veggies for four in a 1 kg cryo bag with garlic, olive oil and rosemary.

“We’ve got a range of heat-and-eat meals available,” said Scott. “We’re working on expanding that in the coming week. We’ve also got Pialligo lamb shoulder approximately 1.5 kg to feed eight people, so you can have your lamb with our famous 24-hour jus for $49. Because it’s coming from a local supplier who no longer has restaurants to supply or straight off the estate, it’s at a very good price. and it will keep our producers going,” he said.

Scott explains they wanted food harvested from the Pialligo Estate farm to be handled as little as possible to ensure food safety and cleanliness in the current environment.

“You’ll see people wearing masks and full sanitation garb,” he said. “From harvesting the food from our organic farm to the customer’s car there are minimal handling points. We designed our process that way to ensure customers are given the freshest, and cleanest, food and groceries on the market.”

The staff are wearing masks and full sanitation garb. Photo: Supplied.

Customers who order their groceries online at Pialligo Estate’s website can drive to the pickup facility, and won’t even have to wind down the window, said Scott. They are using number plate recognition to match orders to cars, and all customers will need is to pop their boot.

“Our staff, who will be wearing full sanitation garb, will then load the order into the boot, and there you have a full order of groceries including toilet paper, and you can go home again,” said Scott. “Customers won’t be exposed to any germs, it’s a super clean way to do your shopping,” he said.

Pialligo Estate Click n Collect

The pick-up station is marked with clear signage making the process easy to understand. Photo: Region Media.

“We want to support the Canberra community, and our suppliers and staff. We’re hoping this will be a great service, providing organic farm food and other groceries, and the trademark menu items that we know people will miss,” he said. “And the best part is, it means our suppliers and our staff still have an income, but it also supports the Canberra community as there are no limits on the purchase of meat, fish or eggs, or most of the other items.”

Streaky bacon

The famous Pialligo Estate smoked streaky bacon is available for purchase through the click and collects service. Photo: Supplied.

The drive-through grocery is providing produce from the orchards, market gardens, butchery, bakery, smokehouse, kitchens, wine cellar and beer fridge, and importantly has no limits for customers on essential items such as flour, mince, pasta, rice, bread, milk, eggs, and toilet paper.

Pialligo Estate’s grocery pick up point is located at 18 Kallaroo Rd in Pialligo.

You can order online anytime, and pick up hours are from 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm daily.

Learn more via Pialligo Estate’s social media channels on Facebook and Instagram or sign up to their email newsletter for updates.

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