Sam Burns, co-owner of Barrio in Braddon, shares his journey from an Italian cafe-inspired backpacker to a dedicated coffee aficionado and small business owner. Barrio, described as a neighborhood coffee shop, toastie bar, and hot sauce pantry, reflects Sam's passion for fresh, high-quality ingredients. His coffee and food philosophy centers around freshness, whether it’s freshly roasted coffee beans or locally sourced herbs and vegetables. If he wasn’t in hospitality, Sam envisions himself in a completely different role, perhaps as a counselor. He admires Sean McConnell from Rebel Rebel and enjoys exploring underrated venues like Cork Street Cafe in Gundaroo. Sam’s dream dinner guest would be surfer John John Florence, for whom he’d cook slow-cooked chicken tacos with a variety of coriander-infused salsas. His current culinary obsession is risotto, which he makes weekly, experimenting with flavors and techniques. Sam cherishes the seasons and family life in Canberra, enjoys occasional guilty pleasures on TV with his daughters, and starts his day with scrambled eggs on sourdough, flavored with Barrio’s unique WASP seasoning. His go-to coffee order is a black filter coffee with a washed process Ethiopian bean, capturing the essence of coffee in a clean, drinkable form.
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