According to Freja Dunnell, you’re not what you eat, you’re what you eat eats. It’s one of the core tenets of mindful nutrition, which itself is a fundamental focus of Nurture – the brand-new meal-delivery service Freja has launched alongside husband Nathan Dunnell. If those names sound familiar, it’s because Nathan and Freja were the brains behind Elska, the award-winning inventive fine diner that fused native-Australian ingredients and Scandinavian cooking methodology to create one of the best eating experiences in Brisbane.

After Elska closed its New Farm venue nine months ago, Nathan and Freja spent time resetting and enjoying a slower lifestyle. They moved to a 7-acre farm in Mount Samson on Jinibara Country and, during the moments of peace and quiet, new passions began to blossom. The couple tried their hand at growing their own food and Nathan started studying Functional Nutrition and Microbiome, as well as the ins and outs of regenerative farming. It led to the spark of inspiration for what eventually became Nurture. “We started trying to figure out what the next step was,” recalls Freja. “We weren’t ready to reopen Elska yet, because we want to make sure that when we do reopen Elska we’re in a position where we can be as proud of what it was when it was in New Farm.”

Nathan and Freja’s new business idea sees the duo channelling their high-end culinary expertise, passion for closed-loop farming practices and appreciation for the restorative properties of good-quality food into something accessible for the whole community. They reached out to the regenerative farmers, suppliers and foragers that played an important role in Elska’s culinary evolution, recruiting the likes of Loop Growers in Draper, Falls Farm in Mapleton, Joyce’s Gold Heritage Chicken, Scenic Rim’s Tommerup’s Dairy Farm and Towri Sheep Cheeses as chief suppliers for Nurture, which is distributing ready-to-go meals and shared boxes made using seasonal, sustainable and locally sourced produce from today, Tuesday November 28.

Nurture is taking the paddock-to-plate philosophy a step further than most by looking into all ends of where its ingredients are sourced, right down to the micronutrients found in feed and seed.”It’s not a matter of just what you eat, it’s really about what you eat has eaten that impacts you and the whole society we live in,” says Freja. “A big focus point is how the meat’s been fed or loved, and how the food from the earth has been growing and tended.”

While Nurture’s offering is designed to heal the body and optimise our general health, Nathan and Freja aren’t compromising on flavour. The debut menu includes individual meals like slow-cooked Tommerup’s veal ragu with house-made pumpkin gnocchi and spiced Awassi lamb shoulder with roasted Loop Growers pumpkin, Falls Farm charred beans and pan gravy. Families can opt for a share-style box filled with the likes of Rob Joyce chicken and Loop leek pie, smoked mashed potato, tomato chutney, Loop beans with house-made butter, and a vanilla and yuzu Jersey cream cheesecake. Extras like grass-fed brisket parcels, Gleenlea macadamia brownies and pantry staples (think stone fruit vinegar and caramel nut butter) are also available. Everything has been harvested at its peak, which means the Nurture menu will constantly evolve and change to reflect seasonal shifts. The team is also striving to remove processed foods and refined sugars, as well as limiting gluten where possible.

As for Elska, Freja and Nathan are looking to resurrect the restaurant as a destination dining experience in mid-to-late 2024, with plans to reshuffle their homestead to accommodate guests in an intimate setting. “Elska still our passion and our space for creativity and art,” says Freja. “So we’ll be opening to really express that creativity, where Nurture is our day-to-day purpose where we can make a change, look after our footprint on the earth and support the community on a daily basis.”

Nurture is now accepting orders via its website, with delivery available to Brisbane and its surrounds.