Fresh produce had always been a passion for Jan Ordway who, prior to COVID-19 and the devastating KI bushfires, built Millie Mae, her pantry away from home in Penneshaw in mid-November 2019.
It was just five weeks before Kangaroo Island was ravaged with the 2019-2020 ‘Black Summer’ when Jan, who had grown up in Dudley, situated herself among the beautiful mulberry tree on Nat Thomas Street to begin her mission to give locals and tourists an authentic family experience.
A mere three months later, COVID-19 sent the state into its first lockdown.
“Hospitality didn’t fall under the first lockdown business support,” Jan said. “It was tough at the start… We didn’t know what we were.”
Growing up in a family that embraced the freshness and incomparable quality of homegrown and harvested produce—Jan was bound to fall in love with Dudley’s fresh food.
Before Millie Mae, Jan provided locals handmade goodies through an honesty box, a small shed on the side of the road. She filled it with chutneys and jams that she made with her Nan, using her Nan’s own delicious fruits.
What Jan did know, was that Millie Mae was a “labour of love” and she wanted to share the beautiful experience of indulging in homemade, quality foods with as many people as she could.
“People ask me all the time ‘how do you make normal food feel so fancy?'” she said. “Well, it’s real food. It’s a real tomato with real pepper and people love it.”
Jan’s Pop, known as “KP”, is famous in Dudley for the size of his tomatoes, and while he shows off the biggest ones, the rest are roasted and crushed into their famous chutney.
To get through the worst of the COVID period, Jan designed goodie boxes and opened Millie Mae two days a week in 15 minute sessions to give people the chance to buy a takeaway coffee, pick up a box filled with a loaf of sourdough, seasonal salad and soup, as well as freshly baked croissants, and to rummage through the pantry that is stocked with preserved foods and skincare by local KI creators.
Now, after three years of pouring her heart into Millie Mae’s Pantry and doing everything from spreading fresh chutney on paninis and blending her iconic mulberry milkshakes, the café is now up for sale.
“It’s got so much potential… It’s a fantastic blooming business,” Jan said. “It’s too much on my own… If I had a stunt double, maybe I would be able to [continue it].”
While Jan is on the hunt for a couple of passionate mates to take over her business, she wishes to spend more time with her Nan and Pop… but can’t help but to begin thinking about her next projects.
“Watch this space,” she said.
Millie Mae’s Pantry is open Tuesday-Sunday, 7.30am-4pm and is located at 1 Nat Thomas St, Penneshaw SA 5222.
You can learn more about Millie Mae’s menu via their Instagram or Facebook.
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