Desktop - Kate Levins, Brunchfastclub

Kate Levins is a student nutritionist who writes and develops recipes for Brunchfastclub, her seriously yummy wholefoods blog. At home, we love her beetroot and blueberry smoothies. Today, Kate shares her favourite places to shop for fresh produce in Sydney and explains how she comes up with new recipes:

What’s a typical day for you when you’re working on your blog?

I'd love to schedule a regular day or regular hours to work on recipe development and writing blog content but I have to be realistic. My studies definitely come first and if that means I don't post a new recipe on Brunchfastclub for a month, I'm okay with that. In saying that, I am ALWAYS cooking, so there's always research and recipe trialling going on. The best ones get written down and become posts :) 

The most fun days I spend working on Brunchfastclub are my photo shoot days. Brunchfastclub photographer Cam comes over to my place and I prepare eight dishes or so. We spend the whole day styling, shooting, eating and laughing – it's lots of fun. 

I'd love to know where you shop for fresh produce in Sydney and how you shop - do you go for colours or head out with a dish or flavour in mind?

My favourite place to shop for produce are the farmers’ markets. I'll drive to Warriewood markets on a Friday, Ramsgate or Bondi on a Saturday, Frenchs Forest or Marrickville on a Sunday. I love them all and I'm absolutely okay with driving an hour to get there. 

Farmers’ markets are such an experience. I love the atmosphere, the vibe, the fact that you can talk to the person who grew the vegetables you're about to buy, and that you can ask them complex questions like whether they know the level of selenium in their soil. I love supporting their businesses and the produce is ten times the quality of anything you could buy from the supermarket. 

I never really have a plan of what I'm going to buy, other than what's in season – though that's sort of inevitable at the farmers' markets. My market basket essentials are a mix of greens and herbs, avocados, bananas and cabbage. 

Are there any exciting projects or collaborations in the works?

I've actually started catering and running nutrition workshops. Cooking is my absolute favourite thing to do, so being able to share my creations with people, coupled with being able to talk about the health benefits of my creations and answering questions is so much fun. I'm catering for a health and wellness bloggers networking event next weekend which will be great! 

Your blog logo always makes me smile - did you draw the veggies yourself?

My amazing friend Kat drew the Brunchfastclub logo! She is so clever and creative. One Saturday night I asked her if she could help me with it and just said ‘Can you draw a carrot or something?’ and five minutes later she sent me sketches of carrots with all these different and amazing facial expressions. The next day she sent me the logo I use today and I'm still in awe of how great it is.

Thanks Kate! You can check out Brunchfastclub’s super cute logo and energising recipes here. Kate is also on Instagram and publishes health and nutrition articles here.

Desktop is a series that lets you take a peek inside someone else's working life, from creative day jobs to inspiring side projects, just as you're settling into a new work week.

Photos by Cam.