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Nat's cooking and we're all invited

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The Nugget
December 05, 2025

★ Nat’s cooking and we’re all invited ★

Nat Evans has lived in Castlemaine for just four weeks, but she’s already cooking Christmas lunch for half the town.

The chef, retreat leader and fermenting enthusiast landed here in the most Castlemaine way possible: she bought a house sight-unseen and was welcomed like a long-lost cousin.

Nat had been living in Brisbane for decades when she realised she needed a huge change.

“I came down here in August and met an older lady online and she showed me around Castlemaine. I loved it,” she says.

Relax your eyebrows. By online, she means the Castlemaine Community Facebook group.

Then Nat departed for Greece to run a food-focused retreat on the remote Blue Zone island of Ikaria where many residents live past 100.

Between harvesting vegetables with sprightly 80-year-old Greek women and eating rabbit stew in their kitchens, Nat bought a house in Castlemaine on the internet.

“I arrived back in Australia from Greece on the 16th of October, got in my car on the 20th, drove down to Victoria, and now this is my home,” Nat says.

Di, from the Castlemaine Community Facebook group, rolled out the welcome mat in a big way.

“She collected me as I arrived and was my travel guide for three days. She introduced me to beautiful people, her community, and I felt like I’d been part of this town forever.”

It helped that Nat found the fab Mostyn St Cellar wine bar within minutes of arriving. And now, just weeks later, she’s somehow running the kitchen for Community Christmas Lunch.

It’s a good fit. Nat has deep roots in food and cooking, from opening her first restaurant at 24 to running retreats in Greece that explore lifestyle and nutrition.

Ikaria, where life is slower and more communal, has influenced the way she cooks and lives.

"They have a dish called Sufoko which literally means ‘I left you some’. There’s just a pot on the stove for whoever pops in. That really underpins the whole island.”

She plans to thread some of that Greek magic into this year’s lunch. “We’ll definitely have traditional favourites. Oakwood Smallgoods have donated beautiful smoked hams. We’re also doing a Greek-inspired roast chicken. I’ll make vegan and vegetarian mains like yemista, and lots of Greek sides, salads and roasties.”

Dessert is where she’s cutting loose: “I’m thinking a baklava pavlova. Syrupy, honey-infused deliciousness.”

There’ll be Christmas cookies, cupcakes for the kids, and full options for anyone who’s gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan or vegetarian.

“You don’t need to worry at all.”

Ahead of Christmas, Nat will be in the kitchen at Castlemaine Community Lunch on Tuesdays, getting to know the volunteers. She’s hoping more folks will join the team for the big Christmas Lunch.

“We’d love people to come help. You don’t need skills. If you’re willing and able, we’d love you on board.”

Prep will begin a few days before Christmas, and extra hands, even for an hour, make a huge difference.

Beyond Christmas, Nat hopes to bring her love of cooking classes, fermentation and women’s health to Castlemaine. She’s been a menopause health, fitness and nutrition coach for 18 years and already has ideas for workshops.

She's settling in beautifully at her home on Treasure Street that she later learned once belonged to musician, writer and activist Eliza Hull.

“Every day I meet new people and they are so kind and generous,” she says.

There’s even been a plot twist. She discovered a niece she’d never met moved to Castlemaine just weeks before she did.

“I came to this town and found family I didn’t know I had,” she says. 

With Christmas approaching, she’s pouring the warm Castlemaine welcome she's experienced straight back into the community.

“I’m excited. I’m thrilled. I think it’s a way for me to pay it forward. I’ve landed and what better way than to give straight up,” Nat says.

If you’d like to help with the Community Christmas Lunch — on the day or with prep beforehand — contact Castlemaine Community House on 03 5472 4842. It's a guaranteed cup filler.

❀ The Doofe crew is back in biz ❀

If you were lucky enough to experience the magic of the Doofé Café, you know you don’t want to miss the crew’s latest creation: Doofé Ink.

For one night only, the community is invited to step inside an exhibition curated entirely by CSC Year 10 students in the Castlemaine Community House Youth Program.

These young artists have thrown themselves into art movements and created original works — each paired with its own artist statement.

There’ll be original pieces for sale (get in early), plus light refreshments.

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