Founded by Sarah Ramsey, Foragers Cafe is located in the Ararat arts precinct next to the Ararat TAMA gallery entry on Vincent Street. 

Ms Ramsey has been running her catering business Sarah’s Kitchen for the last five years, and realised that a lot of people she catered for had dietary restrictions which made things difficult for them – including her own daughter.

“This (cafe) has branched off from that. Dietary wise I felt like it was something a little bit different for Ararat, just covering a few of the special diets and some of the local produce a bit more,” she said.

“I found a need for it with catering, coming across special dietary requests, and because my daughter has special dietary requirements I realised how hard it is to go out for lunch or for go out for tea and for her to have something substantial as well.”

Foragers Cafe’s brand of food has proven popular already.

“It’s been hectic – amazing. The support – we just haven’t caught up at all. It’s been really good. Most people that have been in have come back the next day,” Ms Ramsey said.

“We’re trying to stay away from the deep fried. 

“It’s fresh, as much home cooked stuff as we can – just fresh tasty food is what we’ve always prided ourselves in at Sarah’s Kitchen.”

So far the raw vegan and gluten free slices have proven the most popular.

The coffee is the other popular offering.

“The main emphasis is on the coffee, which we’ve sourced from Melbourne from Seven Seeds. It’s fresh roasted and they send that out to us every week,” Ms Ramsay said. 

The name of the cafe itself is special to Ms Ramsey as well.

It’s a reference her family’s tradition of foraging and a tribute to her brother-in-law, who was also a chef and passed away at the start of the year.

Foragers is open seven days a week from 9am to 5pm weekdays and 10am to 4pm on weekends.