News

Thank you to 3,000

I was working on my sales numbers last night and realised that since opening my doors in February in Cottesloe I have sold over 3,000 meals! I took a moment to think about 3000 people sitting down to my food around a dining room table, or perched on a knee in front of the TV, or outside in a courtyard sharing a meal with friends, family, loved ones and it felt really great. Everyday I'm meeting new people because friends have recommended the product to each other. I am blown away by people's kind words and generosity of spirit. To think that people like a product so much and to go to the extent of recommending it is invaluable, especially in this day and age where we are spoilt for choice. So, I just wanted to say thanks to the 3,000 and here's to 1 million more!!!

First C Si Bon boutique opens tomorrow, 12th February 2018!

I'm so excited to reveal that my first C Si Bon boutique will be opening it's doors tomorrow at 9 am!! This is a great opportunity to showcase my whole range of products including baby foods, award-winning desserts, soups, lunches and dinners. Tastings will be available every day. I also get to show you how to prepare the meals, give you some ideas about how to serve the products and how they are made. Be sure to tell your friends and come in to say "hi". Our address is Shop 8, 7 Station Street, Cottesloe, WA 6011. Our opening hours are Monday - Friday 9-5pm, Saturday 9-1pm.

Home deliveries will continue to be an integral part of the business so if you can't make it to the boutique, please jump online and order. Delivery days are Tuesdays and all the details are on the website. www.csibon.com.au.

A very big thank you to Sarah Templeman of Sarah Templeman Gallery with whom I share the space. She gave me the opportunity to be involved in the site and I think together we will make magic!

I look forward to seeing you all really soon!

C Si Bon wins 3 Silvers at this years' RASWA Perth Royal Food Awards!

I'm so proud to have won Silver across the board again this year for C Si Bon Citron & Coconut Cheesecake, C Si Bon Raspberry Eton Mess and C Si Bon Choc Hazelnut Tart with Strawberry Coulis at the RASWA Perth Royal Food Awards! We have so many wonderful products made right here in WA. Support your local producers to keep the local artisans in business. It's a tough gig sometimes but wins like this make it sweeeeeet - literally!! This weekend, visit your local markets, source out new and interesting wines, cheeses, chocolates, olive oils, meals, meats, fish, teas, coffees, juices! Vote with your wallets and your mouths. I'm so proud of my chef, Yohann Crampon, and of course my family who stand by me every day encouraging and just being there. Thank you all for your support. And, as I always say in times like this, WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! X

Tastings on this week in your area!

There are a few tastings coming up so mark them in the diary and if you haven't tasted our delicious C Si Bon meals yet then now is your chance!

1. Jack's Wholefoods in Claremont, Saturday 16th September 2017 between 10-1 pm

2. Swanbourne Market IGA on Thursday 21st September 2017 between 4-7 pm

3. Cottesloe Primary Year 3 hosting event. If you would like to host a lunch or dinner with friends please contact me on 0407 907 104.

 

Have a great week and enjoy this sunshine!

 

First day of Spring - FREE SHIPPING gourmet meals home delivered

To celebrate the first day of Spring we are offering FREE SHIPPING to our loyal customers. So jump online now and order your box of delicious frozen meals, soups, desserts or baby food for home delivery on Tuesday 5th September. Read the testimonials and see for yourself how delicious our food is. With free home delivery you don't have to do a thing except click a button and by Tuesday you will receive a box of delicious meals delivered straight to your door. We can also deliver to your work place if need be. Just head to our website and order today! Gourmet meals home delivered - YES PLEASE!

Testimonials for home delivery service

"Hi Natasha

Thank you so much for managing our order. My sister was absolutely thrilled
with the gift, the ribbon & card really made it feel like something special.
She was blown away with the range and gluten-free options of meals, and is
delighted that we've made her evenings with her twins a little easier. Thank
you for your incredibly responsive communications - it was great that while
I'm based in Dublin, you were able to answer any questions I had almost
immediately!

Wishing you much success,

Best regards

Amie"

 

Well this made my day. To think that someone from across the other side of the world thought of a gift for her sister who had just had twins, that would help her out, taste delicious, nurture her and her little family. Just awesome. That's really why I started C Si Bon. Because it really does tick all the boxes. 

Restaurant quality

Delicious

NO additives or preservatives

NO added sugar (apart from in desserts!)

Gluten Free

Frozen

Heat and Eat

Local

Handmade

Delivered straight to your door

 

How easy is that? I'm also glad to know that her sister thought that the products were delicious and her smile when I opened the door was priceless. So, thank you Amie in Co Dublin for thinking of the perfect gift for your sister and including me in the journey. Home delivered gourmet meals really are a great gift for someone else or for yourself. 

Host a C Si Bon degustation lunch or dinner for FREE

Hi everyone!

Yes it's true, you can host a C Si Bon degustation lunch or dinner from the privacy of your own home with your friends for free. It doesn't cost you anything. I provide all the meals and you get to try everything before you buy. So far these have been really fun and a great way to catch up with friends, unwind in the comfort of your own house and sample all of the delicious meals, soups and desserts I have on offer from C Si Bon. The best thing is I guarantee next day delivery for all orders and it's free home food delivery. If you would like to host a lunch or dinner please contact me on 0407 907 104 or natasha@csibon.com.au.

I look forward to meeting more of you!

Natasha

C Si Bon - Home Food Delivery

Hi everyone,

Long time no hear. Yes, it's tricky balancing everything to do with this burgeoning business but I love it and it still makes me get up everyday happy and excited for the next challenge. Recently I have been promoting my home food delivery service and this is for a few reasons.

Firstly, I get to meet my customers face to face and the resounding message I receive is that it is so lovely to have home cooked meals delivered straight to your door. People are either time poor, too frail, too busy, too injured to get to the shops. This is where home delivery plays a major role in our society now. Being predominantly French focussed in my cuisine also sets me apart from the crowd and this is something I'm proud of. I also get to hear everyone's stories and I love being involved in this process. 

C Si Bon home delivery allows me to use less packaging and focus on seasonal offerings. Recently I launched the C Si Bon Coq au Vin, C Si Bon Beef Cheeks, C Si Bon Mediterranean Vegetables as well as C Si Bon 7 Veg Lasagne, C Si Bon Aubergine Lasagne, C Si Bon Green Lasagne, C Si Bon Champignon Velouté, C Si Bon Leek & Truffle Oil Velouté to name a few! It's been busy but this just shows what beautiful produce we have to work with and I want to be able to offer this in my meal delivery service. 

My C Si Bon meal delivery service suits people who are incapable of getting to the shops for various reasons. You may have just had a baby (and the gift boxes for new parents are really popular, I wish I had had these when I had first had my children!). I offer a little bit of something for everyone, whether it be award-winning desserts, soups, lunches, dinner and now babyfood. C Si Bon really does cater to everybody's needs and being home delivered makes life that one bit easier. That's a good thing!

Overall these meals are perfect for when you don't have the time but want something delicious, healthy and local. It does take a little organisation to get online and hit the order button but it's worth it. I can't tell you how many times I hear how perfect my home delivery service is for busy mums and dads. I have never had a dissatisfied customer and that is very rewarding.

So if you need to get organised, know someone that needs a helping hand and loves delicious food then go straight to www.csibon.com.au and order your first food delivery from www.csibon.com.au today!

The West Australian, Thursday 10th November 2016

I loved the piece about C Si Bon frozen gourmet meals in last weeks West Australian. "Frozen Assets Frozen convenience shouldn't mean lesser quality; quite the opposite in fact. We've found our favourites which are mostly designed to go straight from the freezer to the oven - too easy. Our suggestions are all locally made.... C Si Bon Mum-of-two Natasha Winburn-Clarke is doing what she does best - wholesome home cooking with a gourmet twist. These are next-level frozen meals which would sit proudly on the poshest dinner-party table without guests batting an eyelid. Her French/Mauritian heritage is an influence on meals such as Mauritian rougaille, chicken chasseur and her entertaining favourites like traditional boeuf bourguignon, lamb tagine, stuffed chicken thighs (with prunes) and potato gratin. Her gluten free lasagne is the best and her citron and coconut frozen dessert took out the whole Frozen Dairy Dessert Category at this year's RASWA Premium Produce Awards. Meals come in two and four serves. Visit csbon.com.au for delivery details and Perth stockists." Wow! Pretty proud of that. I loved the opening remarks and I truly believe in frozen food. Infact, we all do. How often do you cook something, have left overs and put it in the freezer for next week? All the time! The reason we are often put off frozen foods in the supermarket is because we have been promised great things by big companies and we are always underwhelmed by the offering. It's because they have lied to us for so many years and this has been our only choice. Well, there is a choice now and it's fresh, local, healthy and DELICIOUS! C Si Bon. I will keep fighting the good fight as long as you all show the support. Thank you!

C Si Bon takes out "Frozen Dairy Dessert" Category at RASWA Premium Produce Awards 2016

Well, it's been about 44 hours since my little brand made an important milestone.....

July saw the 1st anniversary of C Si Bon being available in stores. In the past 12 months I have been busy trying to get C Si Bon into as many mouths as possible. Tastings are the best way to let people know what you do. Until they taste it there will always be scepticism, especially in the frozen food category. For so long major companies have promised the idea of edible frozen meals but have never delivered. Things are changing, thank goodness and I am adamant that consumers know the difference between good and bad. Every time a customer of mine walks out of a shop with one of my meals in their hands it's such a huge win - for small business, for healthy eating, for hard working people like you and me, making the right choices.

C Si Bon is now available in 24 stores, online and in about 8 school canteens. I was so stoked to reach that milestone and then Wednesday came along. I entered the C Si Bon Citron & Coconut Cheesecake and the C Si Bon Choc Fudge Hazelnut Fudge Tart with strawberry coulis into the RASWA Premium Produce Awards under the Frozen Dairy Dessert Category. This is an annual event run by the Perth Royal Dairy Show and there are hundreds of entries in different categories - milk, cream, cheese, ice-cream, gelato, chocolates - YUM! 

Wednesday night was pretty stormy if you remember. I had been cooking all day in my kitchen and ran to do school pick up. My three year old was dragged to the shops to get the ingredients together to make the 8 year olds birthday cake whiles she was at hip hop. The phone rang, the 3 year old had an accident in her pants, it was time to pick up from hip hop, homework was completed, baths and dinner were done. I then got myself ready, my husband arrived home, it was time for me to go and then the 3 year old started having a tantrum. She didn't want me to go. I felt like a failure. I got in my car with tears streaming down my face thinking, "What am I doing? Why am I doing this? I should be at home tonight looking after my baby."

I was the last to arrive at the awards night, everyone was seated for dinner. I found my table and introduced myself to everyone and sat down. Unaware of what the proceedings were I asked Gary sitting next to me who works for Harvey Fresh. He said that only Category Winners would be announced tonight. I was so resolved to not winning that I asked for a glass of champagne to settle in and watch how this all went down. I had a lovely group of people on the table and we chatted about our respective businesses. Yard 86 Milk & Cream were there as well as the girls from Majors Group and representatives from Perth Royal Show. The food was great and the awards got under way.

"Frozen Dairy Dessert" category flashed up on the screen. I took a breath and C Si Bon was announced as the category winner! I was so excited. I've never won anything in my life!  (Oh sorry, no, the state under 16 squash championships - wow).  I practically ran to receive my blue ribbon and glass statue. I WON!!! I ACTUALLY WON!!!

I sat down at the table and everyone congratulated me. It was such a fantastic feeling. As soon as the ceremony was over I ran and called my mum and burst into tears. As you all know she has been my main backer in this business, financially and emotionally. I was clearly very emotional. I was very emotional because this means so much.

It means sacrifice, hardship, marriage strain, emotional tug of war between kids and work, guilt, daily grind, sweating over a hot stove (literally), money strains, accounting bullshit, being in 5 different places at one time, late nights, early mornings, dealing with difficult customers, being told that you would never succeed, being judged, working in a kitchen with no windows and walking out after 8 hours feeling like you've done 8 rounds with a cage fighter, doubts, niggling insecurities. 

I was also emotional because I had an idea and I saw it through and got rewarded by industry peers for it. The outpouring of love and support once I'd posted it on Facebook blew me away. So to counteract all of the negatives the emotion was there because I love what I do, I'm passionate about my cooking, my food, my brand, my business, the people that work for me, my family, my suppliers, my awesome customers, my friends, the amazing fresh produce I get to work with, the ever changing nature of a natural product being crafted into something delicious, the fun, the creativity, and especially my kids.

I got home and my husband was awake. He actually looked excited about the win! Major step forward. We cracked open a bottle of wine and celebrated together. We talked about how exciting it will be going forward and what this means to us. I can actually call C Si Bon an Award Winning brand! He also reminded me of something. When we got married he made a speech. In it he said that one of the most beautiful things he thought about me was "that I was a really good cook". Yeah, I remember. I will never forget.

C Si Bon is the 2016 Category winner for the Frozen Dairy Dessert section at the RASWA Premium Produce Awards - BOOYAH!!!