'eWater does work and it’s one product that does all of the cleaning that you need done'.

Set on a hillside in Birregurra, Victoria, Brae is a restaurant, guest suites and working organic farm – which as they put it, “is a place to be immersed in nature and eat from the land".

Co-owned by Dan Hunter and Julianne Bagnato in 2013, Brae has been popping up on best restaurant lists all over the world. It landed the number 44 spot on The World’s Top 50 Restaurants list in 2017 and has held three hats in the Good Food Guide year after year.

We caught up with Dan, to share his story about deciding to invest in eWater and what impact it makes to his kitchen -

What led you to investing in an eWater System?

“We went to eWater initially because obviously as hospitality venue there are a lot of chemicals going right across the operation, from kitchen cleaning to accommodation. And we just wanted to reduce that chemical footprint. We have a strong focus on sustainability and early on when we opened we realized we needed to address the chemical issue pretty quickly. We chose eWater because we knew they were environmentally friendly.”

What were your first thoughts?

“At first, it sounded too good to be true, so we were a little bit skeptical going in because as a hospitality business you work with the chemical companies basically telling you that you need this bleach and this chemical and you need 100 different things to do the job. But eWater does work and it’s one product that does all of the cleaning that you need done. And it is environmentally sound!”

“I was really impressed that they had so much information to back it all up so I spent a lot of time trawling through all the studies and looking at the data to show that it is effective and it kills viruses, it does what it says on the packet.”

How did your team respond to the transition away from chemicals?

“I think there's a bit of a cultural shift that has to take place because you've got chefs who have worked with chemicals for years and years and that's all they know. But once we got the product and we had it installed and, importantly, I think, Phil then came down himself, and spent time with our managers going through the processes, it built a really good relationship and we gained confidence in the product and in the company.”

Is eWater a net cost or saving to your business?

“You've got to come up with investment at the beginning but it's definitely a cost saving; I mean, you pay for it once, and it keeps giving you the sanitiser and cleanser, at no cost. It’s a no-brainer. You only have to look at what you spend on chemicals and you realize that.”

How does safety and risk management come into play?

“Chemicals are dangerous to breathe in. It's really important for us, number one that we're doing something that's beneficial for the environment, but also that we're not harming our staff. And when staff are being exposed to these chemicals day in and day out, it can affect them in terms of their breathing. It's not a pleasant thing and we don't want to have that on our shoulders. It's a real relief to be using something that we know is safe.”

Final Thoughts -

“Our business really is based around a framework of sustainability and everything that we do, all the choices that we make are made with that, at the fore. We grow our own food organically.

We manage the land in a way that is regenerative not just taking from the land. We don't use any herbicides or pesticides that can actually harm it. And there's no point, putting all that effort in when you're throwing chemicals around inside the building! That's why we decided to look for something like eWater, to reflect our own values.”