Ep20 - Creativity in Full Bloom with Artist & Jungle Fowl Owner Rachael Boon

This week on the podcast, we sit down with local artist gardener and hospitality entrepreneur Rachael Boon to explore a life shaped by creativity in all its forms. From painting and artistic expression to growing food, creating memorable dining experiences and building community through hospitality, Rachael shares how these passions have remained intertwined throughout her journey.

We chat about her lifelong relationship with art, how creativity has guided her personal and professional path, and the ways she finds inspiration in the natural world. Rachael also reflects on her years running Oaks Kitchen, where she offered intimate cooking classes and one-on-one culinary experiences that connected people through food, learning and storytelling.

Now at the helm of Jungle Fowl, Rachael continues to bring together her love of hospitality, beautiful spaces and thoughtful experiences. We discuss the connection between gardening and cooking, the satisfaction of growing your own food, and how creativity can flourish across many different mediums; from the garden bed to the canvas, and from the kitchen to the dining table.

This conversation is a wonderful reminder that creativity isn't limited to one practice; it can be woven through every aspect of life. Whether you're an artist, a gardener, a foodie or simply someone who loves hearing the stories behind creative businesses, you'll find plenty to enjoy in this episode.

@rachaelboonartist @jungle.fowl_

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

All the juice straight from the makeup booth. Welcome to the booth juice. Welcome back to another episode of The Booth Juice. My next guest today is As Creative as they come. Not only is she an incredible artist, she's also the owner of the quirkiest restaurant in town, Jungle Fowl. And a major green thumb.

unknown 0:22

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 0:23

So please welcome my beautiful friend Rachel Boone. Thank you so much for jumping on today, Rachel. I'm just so excited to talk about your story because I feel like you have so many different amazing chapters and facets of your life. Yeah. Um, yeah, people are gonna love to be able to do that. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 0:44

Thank you for having me. And this is awesome, Rain. Like I've been listening to a lot of your podcasts, and I love hearing people's stories and um especially how you bring creatives together in your shop, and I just think, well, that's that's that's cool. You've got to support this.

SPEAKER_02 1:00

Yeah, thank you so much. I know there's just so many incredible people around for sure. Um now for you guys, you probably recognise on Makers Instagram and stuff at the moment, we've been posting a lot about Rachel's new series. So I would love to hand over to you, Rach. Do you want to talk a bit more about your series? What's it called, how did it come about? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:21

Um, so lately I've been painting a lot of blooms um inspired by my garden, gardening, yeah, and then also a representation of I think the colours and the the the um the changes of the season uh that we experience and then also my imagination. So uh I spent a couple of weeks down south just hanging out with my grandma in New South Wales, and um down there I was just reflecting on what I wanted to do next in my art series, and I thought, you know what, I really want to uh capture the I guess the flow and the energy of my everyday gardening um life, yeah. And with this series for maker, I was actually talking to Donna, Donna Ward, um, your mum, and uh and I was like, Do you want me to do like a series for Maker? And then Donna's like, if you could get something before carnival, that'd be great. And then I thought I was looking, no, I love pressure, a lot of pressure, and uh, but then I was also like, because I think sometimes as an artist you need a little bit of pressure, yeah, because I think that feeling when you're like given a deadline makes you go, and and and a space. For me, I work with spaces, yes, so um when I was like, okay, make her just before carnival season, I was already in my garden at that point because we'd just changed the season from wet to dry, and I thought, oh, this is a really good opportunity for me to rip up some of the old um garden beds that were overgrown with like all of wet seasons, herbs and things. And I was in there and I was thinking, make her uh the series, and I was like, in there, and I thought it's gonna be this, so then I just stopped gardening, went into the next studio, like left it abandoned, but that was good because I like I could I was uh Ding up things, I was like, you know what, I'm gonna focus on this, yeah, and um it just sort of came to me within like a week, I think. I was like, Yep, this is it, and it was just the levels of soil, yeah. So as I was like pulling out the garden beds, I was like, okay, first it was like sandy and light, and then it was like mulch, and then it became red, and I was like, okay, this is it. And then all around the garden, there's just like little pops of this and little blooms of there, and you know, it's every I don't know, every week for the wet season I was mowing the lawn, so I was like, Oh, look at that tiny little flower in the clover and stuff. You know, it's just like all these little things that inspired this latest series for makeup. I think it's just um like inside of me, yeah, and I can't help it. Yeah, but when I see like what you've created, it just gives me so much joy because it's the same, like it's so beautiful and how you put things together, like you and Donna. Yeah, I just think wow. Like, so it's the same feeling, and I think I really do appreciate and all the all the crafts people that do their thing. I'm just like, whoa, like this is this is what I think.

SPEAKER_02 4:42

I think a lot of people think that like creativity is like, oh, okay, you're creative if you're a crafter or whatever, but I I seriously believe that there is creativity in every aspect of people's lives, and yeah, wholeheartedly sort of weave them through all of it is so beautiful, like you do that so well.

SPEAKER_01 5:02

Oh, I don't think people realise how much they do creatively and that they are creative. Like, I mean, when you look at say a plumber, yeah. I've had plumbers come to my property, obviously, we all have, yeah, like, and they go, Oh, what if we do this with this and make that work that way? And I think, well, your mind's so creative in that aspect where I could never do that. Yeah, or like a chef, right? Yeah, they're artists, you know, they are like putting together, you know, this m amount of lime juice with this, and it creates balance and art form in your in your mouth. So I think people don't realise like every day, like whether it's like cooking your dinner or growing a garden or you know, I don't know, like even organizing your house is so creative. And I think it does something too, you know. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:50

Do you feel like you've always been like that? Like since you were little?

SPEAKER_01 5:54

Yeah. Yeah. So like art came first, yeah, and then gardening, and then the industry I'm in, like the restaurant industry. Um, like I was always free to create. I think that was the gift that my mum and my grandmother gave me was like free to um explore. Were they like in creative sort of industries themselves? Not really, like, but I think the way that my mum's a chef, yes. Yeah, yeah. So yeah, she was. Um, but my grandmother, she just my nan Barbara, she just puts together like her home is so eclectic, yeah, and it's full of love and stories, and she would just like if I go into a house, which I went and spent two weeks with her last year, and she was like, This is from this, this is from 40 years ago, and your auntie Karen gave it to me, and it's got a broken leg, but I still love it. It's like a little pottery donkey. Oh, that's so cute! Um, and I'd just be like, Where's that from? She's like, This is from this, and this is the and I was like, and I think because she always um presented herself with like a scarf or layers and like just like a necklace or her house, her garden.

SPEAKER_02 7:10

It's just all just very put together, personal, and such a story behind each thing, like everything is so consciously selected, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:19

Perfect, no, and also like humble beginnings, you know, like op shopping, yes, and not having like a huge amount of money to go and just do things having style, yeah, and she's taste, you know. And I think growing up with that sort of woman around me and just being like, Oh, you know, why not? Like this is this, this is and I was like, Yeah, cool, like why not? And it's funny, I love I love it when people turn something from nothing to something, like okay, Donna. We just had a look, she's like, Oh, I just made this bookshelf, and I'm like, No, I just go back from holidays, she's like, Whoop the book. No, I love it, it makes me so like cool. Like, you know, what she had had some pieces of wood, was like, you know what, I need a bookshelf, okay. Boom, boom, boom, done that. Yeah, I'm like in my garden, like, oh, I have a patch of soil, oh it's got good light. Oh yeah, I'm gonna put some seeds in. Garden, yeah, you know, um, ingredients, beautiful food, painting. Yeah, it's the same. I never you know, I don't think any artist goes into do being an artist to be like, oh, I'm gonna be like a billionaire, a millionaire. No, I think you're just doing, yeah, and then it's beautiful that people love it, you know.

SPEAKER_03 8:38

So oh I love that.

SPEAKER_02 8:40

They said before you started with art and then you went into cooking and stuff. So what what exactly did you start with?

SPEAKER_01 8:47

Was it just So I guess like as a child, yeah, like very small, yeah, like I used to like this is pretty naughty. But mum came home one day and I painted all like drew or painted all over the walls of Sydney apartment, and she was like, didn't even get really angry with me. So I think that I was like, but obviously she was probably inside like this in Sactic. Freaky. And then she actually created that I could paint on the glass of the and then she could clean it off. Oh, really? Because again, like humble beginnings, I don't think there was any craft things for kids back in the 80s or them. So she was like, so I used to do it on the glass and she could wash it off. That's and I think because I had that beginning of my life where it wasn't just like don't do that, she was like, Cool, all right, but let's do it over here, yeah. And she's a really cool mum, like you know, like that. And then I've never there's always been time, like space, time for me to be like painting, yeah. And I remember my grandma, she like hung one of my first artworks up, and I think from that stuff.

SPEAKER_02 9:55

I think, yeah, when people value what you're creating from a young age, is really beautiful to me.

SPEAKER_01 10:01

It was like a clown, and it's like 10, and then and then it just all started. And I think because actually as a child I was quite quiet and um reserved, it was actually a really nice place for me to go, was into my art, and it still is today at 40. It's just just like a meditation, yeah. It's just like it's a place where I feel really peaceful, so cool.

SPEAKER_02 10:25

Yeah, so did you kind of leave school thinking that you were gonna pursue that sort of path?

SPEAKER_01 10:32

Well, the funny thing was that I was always I always say to myself, and it I thought I'll always be an artist, it's just who I am. Like I'm never gonna stop, even if it doesn't go anywhere, it's just something I'll do for me. Yeah, and um my dad owned restaurants, so up here, so in Port Douglas. I pretty much like left school and he was like, You can come work for me. And I was like, Okay, like because it was just like a job, I was 18. I sort of know what I was gonna do, and then I worked for my father, I worked for him for a year and a half, I think, from Brisbane. He had a restaurant in Brisbane, and then I lived up here in Port and then Cairns. He had one Brisbane Cairns Port, and I worked at a mall, and then I was like nearly 20, and I thought, Dad, love you, but need to go work for other people because port is amazing, but I wanted I love the industry by then. Yeah, which is another form of creativity, absolutely, like when you're in hospitality, I think a lot of artists get into hospitality quite naturally because if you're an actor or a designer, you know, you just start in hospital, and then that gives you finances to pursue your craft.

SPEAKER_03 11:50

Definitely.

SPEAKER_01 11:51

Um, I was like, okay, well, I can take this industry and I can travel to Sydney, Melbourne, or Brisbane or wherever I can use it to then try and do more art, etc.

SPEAKER_03 12:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:06

So I started in Sydney, yeah, and I worked at like a few cute little cafes and crazy restaurants, and and then up from Sydney, I had a couple of cute exhibitions at my favourite cafe, which didn't go anywhere. It didn't go anywhere. I don't think I sold a piece of work. I was young, what was I like 21 or something?

SPEAKER_02 12:26

Yeah, but at least you were doing it. Doing it, right? So you just gotta start something. Doing it.

SPEAKER_01 12:32

It's one like I always say to everyone who, if anyone ever asks me, like, oh, how do you like do it? I was like, just do like just one day at a time, one foot in front of the other. Just if you enjoy it, just do it.

SPEAKER_02 12:44

I think particularly well, I guess with the next generation is so you know on their phones and comparing and instant, you know, going viral and all that sort of stuff, instant success. But it's like, no, no. Sometimes you just have to do start somewhere and do it because you love it and not expect that there's supposed to be this massive result out of it.

SPEAKER_01 13:04

Well, I didn't have like at 21, I didn't have no, I think I had a mobile, but it was like a Nokia flip or something like that. It was pretty trendy at the time, Motorola.

SPEAKER_00 13:14

Unreal.

SPEAKER_01 13:15

Um it was cool, but it was no internet on that. No, I think the picture quality was pretty shocking. Back in my day, we did selfies with a like a film camera. It was cool, yeah. Yeah, but you know, yeah, um at the club. It's awesome. But um, you know, Manley was great, I love Sydney, it was a vibe, but I think a lot of um like the art scene wasn't very big there either. Like it it sort of only started to really take on for me seriously when I moved to Melbourne. Cool, yeah, and then when I moved to Melbourne, there was a whole bunch of us from Manley that moved together. We were like, let's go to Melbourne. We ended up living in like Collingwood and um Fitzroy around those areas, Carlton. Yeah, and then you know, it's pretty ridiculous down there. And I was what 25 at the time, so I was working at some pretty cool places, some good restaurants and a beautiful cafe who I'm still friends with, the owner that I a very dear friend of mine, but um, and he loves art. And um down there, you could go to an art gallery on a Tuesday and just see this cute cool new skater dude rocking out some prints, and it was great, it was such a thing, and then I actually became friends with a person who started a gallery, and then I started to show my work a little bit more. Cool, and then I started to sell a little bit more, and in between working in the restaurants, I would try and do a little bit of art. Yeah, um, but it's only now that I've started to really um have the time to do this amount. Yeah, which I'm I mean, I'm 40 now. Yeah, so good. Yeah, you're probably at a place, yeah. I'm at a really good place in my life, like the the best I've ever felt, and that's pretty cool. That's so cool. Yeah, it's pretty cool. I feel really yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:09

I love hearing that from women too, because like the same thing as before, you know, there's that the social media narrative of like, oh no, if you said that it is you're done. And it's like, no, hold on, like women's like we still have so much time to be doing all the wonderful things.

SPEAKER_01 15:24

I don't know, I can't speak for every woman, but for me, I feel yeah, a million times better than I've ever felt before in my relationship. Honestly, it's the best in my relationship with myself. Yeah, oh I love it. I don't know, it's pretty good.

SPEAKER_03 15:41

So beautiful.

SPEAKER_01 15:41

You start to um I don't know for everyone, but I think when you get older, you start to think more about what do I need? Yes, do you know what I mean? I mean, there's so much giving, like when you're a woman, in and it's just natural, I think, and also society puts a lot of pressure on women to just give a lot of yourself to your husband, your wife, your children, your job, your home. There's a lot of pressure, and I think um as a woman we have to try and keep a bit for ourselves and try and not forget who we are. Absolutely. And I think that um when you get older, you start to just be like, yeah, yeah, I am this, and I do want to do that, and I'm going to do that, and say no to this and yes to that. Absolutely. Yeah, and I love it. It's good. Yeah, no regrets. Yeah, good. Loved my youth, but loved who I am now. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:39

So when you did start your art in those sort of um Melbourne exhibitions and stuff, were you painting more like uh just onto canvas and stuff? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:48

Oh, you know, funny you say that. I was actually doing some collaging, cool, which was so fun. And I so I'd start with like like I say, a silk silk paper, and I'd just collect and some of my other pieces of work, and I'd start to cut them together and put them together and then frame it. And I loved that. I think because it was colder down there, like dry, and I could use different textiles, yeah. I wasn't so worried about the wet season and all that comes with it, you know, like the mould and the humidity of the beautiful textiles that we all want to have. Yeah. And um, so I could put together like years of pieces of work and then have them. That was really fun. And also, I was living in a smaller place, like um, not much space. Yeah. So I would have to be more creative. I couldn't do the huge pieces that I do now. Yes, of course. Um I also used to do lots of city line, city um landscapes. Yeah. So it's funny, like, oh you're you're inspired. Yeah, your environment a bit. Which is just I never like I of course I am, but I just didn't realise when I look back at my work, I was like, oh my gosh, I was so inspired by the city line and also the place I live, which was Collingwood and Fitzray. Like I did like sort of aerial views of the streets, like walking to like where I'd walk to work and stuff like that. Yeah, it was cool. I look back and I go, oh, that was cool. That's so different from what I'm doing now.

SPEAKER_02 18:14

Yeah, but I think that's yeah, all part of the process, isn't it?

SPEAKER_01 18:17

I think my work is like that, like so. That's why I always do it in sort of block series. Yeah, because if people want something, I don't like say I've already sold it or I've finished doing that sort of series, like it's like I'm sort of finished, and that's it's hard because sometimes people are like, Oh, but I really want that, and I was like, Oh, I'm sorry, I yeah, I don't know if it's there anymore. Yeah, like yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_02 18:44

Yeah, because it is such an extension of yourself, isn't it?

SPEAKER_01 18:47

So you've got to be in the yeah, yeah, you've got to be in that vibe, that zone.

SPEAKER_02 18:50

Yeah, for sure. So then weaving um you know hospitality into your art, and you've lived in Melbourne, now you're about 25. Yeah, did you ever study um no anything? Like art or hospitality?

SPEAKER_01 19:06

Like hospitality, yeah. That sort of came came with a job, but I also had an apprenticeship through one of the places I worked as a that's when I did my chefing. Awesome, yeah. Um that was great, that was a good opportunity.

SPEAKER_02 19:17

So, how old were you then when you were doing chefing?

SPEAKER_01 19:19

So I was I think I started the apprenticeship when I was 26. Yeah, cool. And then finished when I was probably 28.

unknown 19:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:26

And then from there, I actually only chefed a little bit of my life. Mostly it's just front of house. Yeah. But it has actually given me some good tools, like just daily. Like I can make a beautiful roast lamb and some like beautiful, like you know, roast veggies and like gorgeous like salads and things like that, some dressings. But I'm no level to the chefs that I have at Jungle Fowl, like and my ex-husband Ben, who is amazing, yeah, in his um art form. Real. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. So, you know, like you have to have a respect for like people who follow through with that art form their whole life. Yeah, it's a huge thing. But um, the chefing part and the hospitality part really did um keep me inspired to keep going in my art form because I did meet a lot of cool people, like filmmakers, uh fashion designers, winemakers, like um throughout like working with them in the world.

SPEAKER_02 20:24

It is such a networking environment.

SPEAKER_01 20:27

You meet some really cool people, yeah. It's pretty good.

SPEAKER_02 20:30

I feel like a lot of Port Douglas people probably remember you from Oaks Kitchens and that sort of era of your life. So, did that sort of naturally That was so fun?

SPEAKER_01 20:39

Yeah, like um that was wild, yeah. So I I was like, what happened? I was probably 30, yeah, 31, or maybe just 30. And I said to Ben, um, I think I'm done with Melbourne. Like, I think we need to do he he finished a job. He was working at Long Green and he was just finishing there because he was um wanting to be a head chef of somewhere, he didn't want to keep between the Sioux, he was a Sioux there for six years. I had just finished up um a contract with another big restaurant group, and I was in between doing another, like, and I was working like 70 hours a week, and I was crazy. And I was thinking, do I want to keep doing this for someone else, or do we want to do this for us? And yeah, I mean, by the time you get there, you sort of look, you're arrogant, you think you know everything, you think, oh, we're gonna get arrested, we can do this. If the people, if other people can do this, we can do this. And I thought, I'll just go have a breather, like let's go have a breather up in Port Douglas. Yeah, I have connections here with my dad's property. Um he said we could live there. He was entire his entire land. And I was like, okay, cool, so we've got a base, like, let's just chill. Like, let's just go work for a little place up here in port for three months, chill, recap and see what we want to do.

SPEAKER_03 22:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:08

And I went up before Ben and I was like, hey, dad's got this, like it used to be like the staff quarters of all of his employees when he had Star of Siam.

SPEAKER_02 22:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:21

They used to live there. And I was like, Oh, sorry.

SPEAKER_02 22:24

Let's go into that just for one second.

SPEAKER_01 22:26

So your dad's my dad started Star of Siam back in the early 90s.

SPEAKER_02 22:32

So for context, that's like one of the most popular Thai restaurants. Like in Port Douglas. And I still get taken away from there, like it's amazing.

SPEAKER_01 22:39

I still get taken away from I can I know which numbers I want. So good. That was my first job. I love it. I'll still have happy memories of Star of Siam. Yeah. Amazing. So growing up with my dad, like as a restaurateur, like a tie his Thai.

SPEAKER_02 22:54

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 22:55

Um, and also he's a workaholic. Yeah. So he would work seven days a week, and that was expected from us. So my sisters and I, when I reference us, my sisters, so I have two sisters, Jamarie and Cherie.

SPEAKER_00 23:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:09

And so we just have this work ethic, which is just from the voice of my Thai father in my head being like, Don't be lazy, and you know, what's a weekend? Yeah, yeah. You're only half Australian. You don't get a weekend. So um that has been sort of the push in my life to get to like to get to these things and saying like one day at a time and just keep working and da-da-da.

SPEAKER_02 23:36

Um start three months at Star of Cyan, and then I would just I came back up and I actually was like, you know what, Ben?

SPEAKER_01 23:44

I've got this really crazy idea. And I spoke to my dad, and I was like, Dad, can we do something to this shed? Yeah. At the time, so I I own the property now from like my dad, but at the time, um, I was like, Dad, can I do this thing with your shed? And he was like, Yeah, yeah, yeah, don't spend too much money. And so Ben and I came up and we just gutted the place by it. Like, we just did things we thought we we'd never done any of this stuff before. We'd never like pulled off a wall and then put like something like we were just like, what is going on? And I was like, I'm gonna do all the gardening. Like, so the garden was like above me. Like there was no one had tended this garden, this four-acre property for years and years and years, and it was just like grass up to here, so I and I had no tools, had nothing to know what I was doing. I always gardened, but with my grandma, and then I always had like beautiful little city plots, like I used to put like I'm a funny girl, like so in my Melbourne manly apartment. I had the laundry area, and there was just like this barren, like little dirty dirt patch, and I was like, I'm gonna grow a garden, and like every week I'd go down there, and I didn't own the apartment or anything, but I was a renter, and then like the others were like, Oh, this is so lovely, and then you know, so I'd do like a little veggie patch and all my little places that I rented, and yeah, I sort of knew that I was like, Oh, well, I can plant tomatoes in the summer, I can plant the zucchinis in the spring, da da da. No, not up here in the tropics, you can't do that. So I learned the hard way and like a lot of research, and then started to talk to people and other gardeners and growers, and that's how I started to learn. Yeah, um, and then I have a really great neighbour, Mark and Missy, they live down the road, they have a lettuce farm. And Mark lent me like tools, so he lent me my first shovel and like and stuff like that, and then I started to do it, do the gardens. Yeah. Um, and then it just started off like we were like, let's just do a cooking class, cooking school. Like, let's do a cooking school. Ben used to do them for long grain at the South Melbourne Market. So he was pretty confident that he could do that here using the produce that grows here because it was just like, oh well, my father had already planted all these beautiful macrot like caffeine lime leaf trees, like so beautiful lime leaf trees, and um there's mangoes everywhere, and like ginger galangal and turmeric was throughout and beetle leaf throughout the garden that I found. And um, so we're like, let's just do this, and then that sort of took its time though, yeah. So it's funny because I think people always say like we're you they think you're a roaring success from the start, but it actually was like a long like I still had a job here for a year, yeah, and I was working at Thala at night, and then Ben was working at Silky Oaks Lodge as well on the weekends because we were just getting like maybe one booking a week for a year, and it was like but we didn't want to give up because we thought it was pretty cool.

SPEAKER_02 26:53

And what year was this?

SPEAKER_01 26:55

This was 2018.

SPEAKER_00 26:58

Yeah, cool.

SPEAKER_01 26:59

I think it was 2018, yeah. That was still like just coming to and I look at the pictures of oaks and there was nothing in it, and I thought we just had the big table, yeah, and I was like, oh my gosh, like there's nothing in here. And then after a bit, I could go like op shopping and like go to vintage markets and like antiquing and find some cool stuff, and I started to bring it together.

SPEAKER_02 27:22

Yeah, um and then I remember that there's beautiful painted walls.

SPEAKER_01 27:27

I did that, yes, of course I did. I couldn't help myself. I was like, look at this pay. Built into you, you can like not paint on the walls. Look at these blank spaces. Yeah, they need some art, yeah. And that's sort of and then I've done that with jungle founders. Of course, yeah. Um, yeah, so uh having oaks was really a roller coaster of really, I mean, and then it just blew up.

SPEAKER_03 27:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:49

So we started to do it. Was COVID? Yeah, that was crazy. I was just referencing COVID with some other people, and we're like, do you know that was like six years ago? And where it was like It's insane. We all just do a little Yeah, take a minute, take a minute, take a breath. Are we safe? I don't know. Um we started obviously we o opened Oaks Kitchen and Garden. I think it was 2017, 18. 19 had like a sort of it was getting better, we were getting traction, we were starting to get like more bookings and it was good. And then 2020, boom, like I had a look at the reservation diary I had. I do everything old school. I'm so bad with computers. I'm like, I live in the wrong era. I do. I don't know how to use my phone, I don't know how to use a computer. That's something about me you ought to know. Yeah, cool. Um, so I used to handwrite all the reservations and then call people back. And I don't know, I think people vibed it, I think they liked that. I called them because I honestly just didn't know how to use a computer. So it was just yeah, but I think that's so personal and lovely. So personal and probably not the best business concept because it's a lot of time and then I'm like gardening, cleaning, cooking and stuff like that. But I feel like it fell in with your brand though, because it did, yeah, it was a beautiful place, it was good memes. Um then 2020, and then we had to do curries for a moment. People remind me, they're like, remember when you used to do the curry delivery because of COVID? And I was like, Oh my gosh, I do remember that. But you know, when you're working with a crisis, I don't know, yes, you do know, and you're just sort of doing things, and I think you're having like this out-of-body experience because you're like under so much pressure that you're just like we can do this, we can do that, we'll get it together, and just like boom, and I feel like I was just sort of living in like this panic state of survival of just like how do we keep this new, fresh business going, paying the bills and stuff, yeah, and like we just did it.

SPEAKER_02 29:52

Yeah, but I remember a lot of the restaurants, like I remember that was in my prime blogging blogging time, um, and I had moved back to Port Douglas at the start of 2020.

SPEAKER_01 30:05

You were environment, I was environment. Because I listened to your podcast about what happened with your makeup, yeah, yeah, yeah. Which is extreme.

SPEAKER_02 30:14

Well, yeah, absolutely scary. But yeah, so I sort of came in as like an 18-year-old back home again after a couple of years of like being. Which wasn't the plan. No, it wasn't the plan at all. But I was very much like, okay, how can I help? This is my town, what am I doing? Whatever. But what I remember of that, the restaurant part of that was that because I was in my little blogging era, I was like, okay, and I'd put together this list of all the restaurants, and I was like, hey guys, like I I think I put it on like the Facebook page or something, was like, these are the lists of all the restaurants that are delivering takeaway. Please, if you can, just buy from them because I was so like terrified that all these businesses were gonna close. You but it's so weird because I forget about things until you said that. Then I was like, Oh yeah, I had a blog.

SPEAKER_01 31:02

But you do this a lot for the community. Thank you. You are always shouting out, yeah, and you're always putting out there, but I think and I have used a lot of your information. I think a lot of people have been like, Oh, this is what's going on, this is what's going on, and I think I think that that is so special. Thank you, and just like your energy, you know, to put it out there. No one's no one's prompting you.

SPEAKER_02 31:29

No, but I just I think that that you have a level of responsibility to do that in your community as well. Like, I don't know, I think everyone has always supported me, whether it be makeup, but even just growing up, you know, like I just was very grateful to you know all the different communities and stuff, but I think that if you can help others, you should. Yes. And you as well, a beautiful example of that. Like 2023, right? We had the if people aren't familiar, we had the Jasper floods, which smacked us straight after a cyclone. It was basically destroyed. And you just opened makeup. Yeah, I on the day that I uh this shop, I mean. Yes, on the day we opened this store, they announced the cyclone was coming straight for us, and I just you know laughed hysterically and went, okay, I'm gonna pivot. I know but I vividly remember you, it was like the cyclone had hit, there was all destruction, and then it was that you know week or two after where we were like, okay, how are we gonna how are we gonna help people? Like everyone's in this, you know, crisis mode. Rach texts me. I've whipped up some paintings. What do you reckon we do? A um a raffle or a you know, like let's let's try and raise some money. And I was like, amazing, perfect. By the next afternoon, Rach had just organized the whole thing, had bubbles and everything in here, we had a raffle going. We ended up raising, you ended up raising, 16, almost $1,700. And we then we then ended up deciding to give it to the gymnastics. Which is beautiful, yeah, because they lost because it was yeah, lots of kids and stuff, and then brings joy there. Yeah, yeah, they had over $400,000 worth of damage equipment. And so we just went, look, that's just a something that we can have with today. And maybe it'll cover an electricity bill or something, you know what I mean. Exactly. But that's that's you know, testament to you too, so yeah.

SPEAKER_01 33:22

I just was like, you know, maybe a like a part of me felt, okay, make it Rain has just moved her beautiful shop that supports so many creatives, like in the town and beyond in Australia. And we've just had Jasper, and I just felt like this is not like this is not cool universe. I don't know what you're playing at, Girlie, but this is not nice. Yeah, and uh, so I thought like I was just sitting at home being like everyone else, this sucks. Oh yeah, poor me. And I was like, no, this is not a good attitude. You've got to, like you said, pivot and find that inner, you know, let's do something. So I was just like painting. I thought maybe we can try and get people out, yes, and to make her. Yeah, and I don't know if that's something that's happened, but has this become like a little community hub? Like of like locals come here and just be like, hey Ren, I need to talk to you, or so beautiful. I think people must just come here, it just has this energy that just draws, like it's glowing the way you've designed it. I think because you know so many people, and yeah, I feel like it does feel like people's homes in here.

SPEAKER_02 34:31

Yeah, but I just feel like it's it's back to that same conversation of how you weave everything through the different things you do. So obviously, community is such a at the heart of for both of us, you know, like you have created a space that is not only beautiful in your restaurant, yeah, in you know, in your work and stuff as well, but then it also draws people to want to connect with you and come and sit at your restaurant and come talk to the locals that and you probably have the locals that come up at 5 p.m. on a you know, they have their regular and we love it, you know, happy hour. I get their drink made. Yeah, and it's just like I love it, and we have the same sort of thing, whereas you know, like ours is obviously not happy hour, but it's you know, oh they make for a morning walk, they pop in, they come and out, but you know, it used to be more so when we were next door to a coffee shop, but yeah, I do think that the energy flows through the things you create and the spaces you create and the energy you bring.

SPEAKER_01 35:26

And it's like, oh, such and such's birthday's coming up. Yeah, I'll go to makeup. Yeah, it's Christmas, it's a baby being born, it's you know, it's celebration, it's like makeup. Oh, and even for me, myself, oh I need some new yeah, I need a new gravy boat, like because I need that, you know. Like I'm a real gift giver to myself.

unknown 35:45

You went creepy.

SPEAKER_02 35:46

Oh, we love it! Beautiful supporters of me, but then you you guys are just always like the first ones to rock up at Christmas time and any event, like you guys are amazing.

SPEAKER_01 35:57

This is the place we buy from like and we don't get out much, like, but when Chrissy and I were ready to splurge, we're at Make Up, like that's it. You're so sweet. So yeah, but back to Oaks Kitchen and Garden. Well, we were talking about Jasper, and so Oaks had a really Oaks, I call it Oaks, everything gets shortened, everything gets um, it had a great brilliant year, and um then we actually were starting to get too big for our boots.

SPEAKER_03 36:29

Ooh.

SPEAKER_01 36:30

So the bookings were huge, the numbers were massive, yeah, and we were like, we need to rein this in. Yeah, we don't have a big enough space to do all this, and also the commercial kitchen we put in needed more work. The roof of Oaks is a piece of thin tin that's frosting over this season. And I was like, okay, we need to get a venue because I'm not sure how we're gonna get okayed again if we get another council checkup.

SPEAKER_00 37:06

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 37:07

You know, I think people don't realize if they don't have a restaurant or a shop or something, OHS that the local governments have to do to get you ticked off to do these things and um, you know, disabled access, etc. Um anyway, so Oaks was in this brilliant year, but we were like, okay, we need another backup venue, maybe. And I always had this idea of doing a restaurant in town because of my father. And I thought this is just like my natural progression of owning a restaurant in Port Douglas. I love Port Douglas, I'm a f like live here, like come do stuff here, everybody. Like, come and experience our beautiful place. And um, I was talking to D Loc, uh, who owns Star of Zion Now, and he is like my uncle, yeah, but it's like my dad's best friend, blah blah blah. Um I was like, Do you want to sell me Cyan by the Sea? So Cyan by the Sea is another was another Thai restaurant on Wolf Street, yeah, and he was like, Yeah, okay. So then like we had a chat, and I actually got it, and I was like, Whoa, like that was just another whirlwind.

SPEAKER_02 38:23

So that was like So you actually owned Cyan by the Sea for a bit.

SPEAKER_01 38:26

Well, we owned it, we owned the title of Cyan by the Sea, but we changed it to Jungle Fowl. Of course, of course, yeah. So we had like the license for Cyan by the Sea, so we had like everything. Um for like a moment, yeah, and then I think we had the key, I had it for a month and a bit, and I had to turn it into Jungle Fowl. Amazing. And that was pretty crazy. So did you ever have a vision of what it was going to be like? Yeah, or was it yeah, yeah, I always had a vision. I've always had it's funny when you have dreams or ideas and goals, and some of them are like years ago, yeah, and they still sort of flutter inside of you. Like I still have like I have still many dreams and goals that I would love to do, but I can't believe now reflecting and talking with you that I that I did this, yeah. And then um, so jungle fowl, because I had the chickens at Oaks Kitchen and Garden, yeah, and I love my chickens, I paint my chickens, and and I love them. I was always I used to research about chickens and like where was the first chicken from? Where did chickens come from? I was like, the first chicken was jungle fowl, it came from Southeast Asia, really, which is pretty cool. So then I was like, that's gonna be the name of my restaurant in Port Douglas.

unknown 39:48

I love it.

SPEAKER_01 39:49

And at the start, people were like, jungle fowl.

SPEAKER_00 39:52

And I was like, I know, what are we gonna do?

SPEAKER_01 39:54

It's iconic. I'm never apologetic with my eccentric things. Good. Because I know I am eccentric, I know me.

SPEAKER_02 40:03

I'm not your normal person and calling it like But that's awesome, that's how we get like different characters, different, you know, yeah, stories and stuff.

SPEAKER_01 40:15

And I just put it out there, yeah, and I know the risk is high. Oh yeah, but I don't at the time. Yeah, I'm just like, cool, let's have a restaurant, it's called Jungle Fowl, let's do what we did at Oaks, but for everyone, and like you know, because a lot of the feedback we had at Oaks Kitchen and Garden was it was too expensive. Oh, yeah, so like um a lot of people were like, well, not a lot, a lot of people said it was great and well priced, but a lot of feedback was like, oh, it's very expensive at Oaks Kitchen, it's like $110 per person. And then I was like, I wouldn't think I know, but it's just funny that you get that, right? Yeah, and then you sort of reflect and go, well, how do you you take everything in, don't you? Like, I think as a business owner, and go, like, oh well, am I not tapping into another like am I not for everybody? Yeah, and then so for Jungle Fowl, I felt like it's more for everybody, yeah, because we've got the happy hour, we've got, you know, the beautiful sixth course uh sort of banquet, and then we do like the we actually do the cooking classes and long lunches there now, which is great. So I love Jungle Fowl, it's fun, and I'm glad we did it because Jasper happened, yeah, and then Oaks Kitchen and Garden was completely like never gonna get this tick of approval because it is a 1990s shed that we chucked a kitchen into. Exactly. Yeah, yeah, and the garden's still flourishing, yeah. Like the garden is just off its nuts.

SPEAKER_02 41:40

Do you use the garden for jungle fowl?

SPEAKER_01 41:42

All the time. Yeah, every day, like every day. Chrissy and I are out there picking, foraging, like it's yeah, it's so beautiful. I've got more chickens, yay! They just like do the best work for the farm.

SPEAKER_02 41:56

Yeah, and you've got dogs too.

SPEAKER_01 41:57

I've got dogs, I've got dogs everywhere, chickens, it's the best. I love it. I love where we live. Yeah, I love that we just I'm in love with your home spot. I watch your life. I love your life. I love you. I love your life. I love your life too. I love your garden, I love your doggies, I love like when you say like you take them. I like when you're in your plane with your dad. I will never do that. I am a scary cat. I need two feet on the ground, I will never do that.

SPEAKER_00 42:23

But I love your life too.

SPEAKER_01 42:25

Oh, thank you. I think like living here, I know we all know it's special. Yes, I think everyone that lives here goes, oh, it's so special. And we do, yeah. And I just love that we can share it sometimes with other people.

SPEAKER_02 42:40

Yeah, so beautiful. Yeah. So where you're at now, yeah. So you're running Jungle Fowl full-time? Yeah. Oh, Chrissy runs it.

SPEAKER_01 42:50

Yeah. Like she is the best at everything.

SPEAKER_02 42:53

So does that give you enough flexibility to pursue your art?

SPEAKER_01 42:56

Yeah. So I'll go in there, and I I think this is why I'm creating so much art and the best art I've probably ever created in my life. Um, is because I'll go in there and I really don't have to worry about anything. Yeah. Like I'm actually in the bar at the moment, which is pretty funny. Yeah, and I just I sort of love it because it's very creative, and I'm like, ooh, and then I get to put all the flowers on the cocktail. So because we couldn't actually find someone that suited us to be in the bar. Like, we were so lucky for the first three years of Jungle Far to have like this these people, just angels, just pop up and go, Oh, can I work with you? And then we just sort of meshed so well together. And it was the mo it was like the the hardest point um of this year opening was finding a bartender that we just meshed well with. And so Chrissy and I were just like, let's do it ourselves. Yes. So I'm doing it, and sometimes occasionally Ben comes in and do it or doesn't. Yeah, so we all have like this really great vibe together.

SPEAKER_02 44:00

It's advanced like family vibes.

SPEAKER_01 44:02

Yeah, it's family vibes, yeah. So yeah.

SPEAKER_02 44:05

Um so then what does what does a usual day or week sort of look like for you then?

SPEAKER_01 44:09

Um so I have Monday and Tuesdays off free, and we actually have now this year, so we're in year four of Jungle Fowl, five finally found like a balance of just like actually having those days off.

SPEAKER_03 44:26

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 44:26

So no contact, like you have to make boundaries with one another. So even though Ben and I are ex-husband and wife, and dah dah dah, we're still like the best business owners and we are mates, like, and I think that's just like you know, when you hear of people like, oh, you just we just fell out of love. Yeah, we actually just fell out of that part of our love, like you know, that was just we still love our business partnership, but we just were like, nah, you're this isn't that was never probably what we were supposed to do. We're probably just always supposed to be business partners. Perfect. And then I fell in love with Chrissy and um, like just like this is the love that I that I needed. Yeah, she's so beautiful, beautiful thing, and we all just work together. I know it must seem so crazy from the outside. It actually just works really well.

SPEAKER_02 45:14

I think when you know you guys, like you're like, oh my god, this makes so much sense. Yeah, but yeah, maybe perhaps from an outside you're probably a bit like, oh, how's the dynamic work going on society?

SPEAKER_01 45:26

You know, it's just it works. I don't I can't tell you, but I think it's just because we're all pretty lovely people and we just want to get the job done. Absolutely. Um and then so So then yeah, so your Monday and your Tuesdays. Monday, Tuesdays. We actually have no contact, which is really good. Um, except I share two of my dogs with Ben. Yeah. And so sometimes we do like a doggy exchange.

SPEAKER_00 45:50

Oh like yeah, here's your backpack, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 45:54

And that just works really well. Like, so and also we have each other to look after our dogs if we go overseas or on holiday, which is so nice. Like he loves the dog I share with Chrissy, who is Poppy, my baby, yeah, and he just loves her like it's his own, which is also crazy. But anywho, anywho, let's not even worry about that. Um, and then so Wednesday to Sunday is busy. Yeah, so then we're in the garden Wednesday. Sometimes I'll pop in a bit of paint time for myself in the morning because I'm such an early riser, yeah, I can get in probably like three hours of like just painting before anything else is going on, and then we'll just run around and then I probably go to jungle fowl at like 3 p.m. Yeah, and then I probably finish around nine.

SPEAKER_00 46:45

Awesome.

SPEAKER_01 46:45

It's pretty good, yeah. Life's good, yeah, you know, and I think like I have the whole day off before work, and then I get to do so much. I go to the beach. Awesome. I go to the beach every day with the dogs, and they make you go outside, don't they? Yes, they make you go, oh, we need to go for a swim now.

SPEAKER_02 47:06

Let's move our body, let's see.

SPEAKER_01 47:07

Let's move our body, let's get some air, let's go. So dogs are just like the best thing in the world.

SPEAKER_02 47:12

Oh, yeah, I agree.

SPEAKER_01 47:13

I think they're just little angels, they are, yeah. And um, yeah, life's good.

SPEAKER_02 47:19

What a beautiful painting, garden, work, journey getting here, and just yeah, your everyday life watching. It's so wonderful. Like, I feel like you just create magic in every aspect of your life, and it's just so cool, it's inspiring. Like, I I know it sounds very cheesy, but I just am so inspired by you guys.

SPEAKER_01 47:42

Like all of you, like you just like Kielan has worked with us, he is brilliant, he's the head chef of Jungle Fowl and was at Oaks Kitchen and Garden like with us for years, yeah. And he just runs that kitchen, yeah. Like, I don't ever have to worry about that. And Glenn is a Sue, and he is a they're both local and just lovely, lovely guys, and then we have Nita and Ivan, and they're um came to Jungle Fow family like at the start, so they just run that kitchen, and then it's just like Jazzy, who's a local, she's worked with us. Love Jazzy, she's in here like once a week. Jazzy loves makeup, she's a big supporter of the town. Yeah, so I don't know, it's like a little family with a family, yeah. And without them, yeah, yeah, I couldn't do what I do. Yeah, for sure. So you have to appreciate everyone you work with. Hey, yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 48:36

Yeah. So is there anything that you are working on at the moment or in you know, or looking forward to or whatever in the art world?

SPEAKER_01 48:43

So the biggest thing that's happened for me is maker. Like I that's the biggest thing. I think like I never thought I would ever get to a point where I could be in. I'm very confident in Jungle Fowl, I'm very confident representing Oaks Kitchen and Garden, I was in Jungle Fowler, but with my art, I'm a little bit like, oh, yeah, like a little bit, mm-hmm. I don't know, it's very personal. Yeah. So for me to be like really putting it out there every day in a shop was always a bit of a challenge. Like I tried to do it with Kuru, and I would always like find myself sort of, oh, I don't know if that's good enough, and yeah, is that what people want? And with Maker, I was like, okay, I'm just gonna put it out here. Donna is a very good person to just like really pump you up a bit like, don't care, just do it. And I was like, okay, like what if they want this? They're like, no, like this is going. I was like, okay. And so I think with that sort of energy, you feel confident to then go, all right, we'll give it a crack.

SPEAKER_03 49:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 49:49

And then I think that for me as well, I thought, oh, I'll just try out some galleries. Like, and when I say galleries, I don't mean the ones that are for sale. I thought I'll try some regional galleries. Yeah, cool. Because they're just showing your work without the pressure of the financial side on it, which is the taunting part for me. Yes. Because it's a bit like, oh, am I worth that? Is my art worth that? Is my time worth that in my art form? I'm not sure.

SPEAKER_00 50:14

It's a very is the hardest thing.

SPEAKER_01 50:16

It's a very different world, like for me. So um, so I thought I'll try that. So I have applied for some regional art galleries to just show and exhibit my work in the space of um so people can just come see it. Yeah, yeah. And um, so we'll see. That's next year.

SPEAKER_02 50:34

Yeah, also 2027. Ah, keep your eyes peeled, everyone.

SPEAKER_01 50:38

Yeah, so I'll promote that as well as much as I can, and then obviously if makers still want to um have more work in here, I'll always do a maker series. That would be fun. That would be I think when you have such a beautiful space like you have, it inspires me to paint um to this shop and to this form.

SPEAKER_02 50:59

Like it's I know the the ones that you've done in the last couple of weeks as well, like you're slightly more warmer, and I'm like, so like keep writing back to your story. Oh my god, I need this, I need this, I need this, I need this.

SPEAKER_01 51:10

Yeah, they're they're for maker for sure. That's like definite. Like I would love to show them here. And then I think it's just I get a lot of people, and I don't have many people that follow me on my socials, but the people that do are always like, Can we go see your work?

SPEAKER_02 51:25

And now I have somewhere to for them to come and see it. And I'd also love to do like a meet and greet or something maybe one day. So maybe if you guys subscribe to our mailing list, you'll be the first to know, or check out our broadcast channels. Um, I'll make sure to do a little VIP invite. Um, but I think that's definitely something that we need to break sometime soon as well. That'll be fun. Yeah. A little get together, a little art making. So and obviously in the meantime, if you'd like to buy any of Rachel's stunning current series, um, we do have them available on our website, Instagram, and obviously in store as well. Um, but yeah, thank you so much for joining me today, Rachel. Like, I've just had the best and I seriously could just sit here for like two days, just great. I know it's nice and comfy, it's great. You've even bought snacks in the channel.

SPEAKER_01 52:18

I know we'll eat little treats. I love I love snacks. I love cakes.

SPEAKER_02 52:22

Yeah, for me too. Um now I'd love to just wrap up with maybe one last thing. Could you give our listeners a piece of advice, whether that be something you live by, something someone's told you, whatever you want to leave us with today?

SPEAKER_03 52:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 52:38

Um, so I have been thinking about just some quotes and things from my nan and just like people who have, I guess, inspired me through my life. And it's just like live life with an open heart, like choose love and don't be fearful of what you can do, what you can achieve, but also don't put too much pressure on yourself, yeah. And just um, just take every day, do something kind towards yourself. Yeah, every day.

SPEAKER_02 53:11

I love that so much. Oh well, thank you, thank you so much again. And yeah, of course, if you guys want to find Rach, what was your Instagram handle?

SPEAKER_00 53:20

It's Rachel Boone uh artist. Oh Rachel Boone Artist. Rachel Boone Artist.

SPEAKER_02 53:25

Don't even know I think it's Rachel Boone Artist, but I'm not gonna be able to do it.

SPEAKER_00 53:31

Rachel Boone?

SPEAKER_02 53:32

Yeah, don't send me a DM and I'll sort you out, right? Alright, guys, we'll be in your ears very soon. Thank you so much. Have a wonderful day.

unknown 53:45

Bye.