Chef’s Lab sells giant gourmet sandwiches from CBD window

A new gourmet sandwich window has opened in the CBD, and already city workers have flocked to the laneway to order lunch.

At the Chef's Lab in Duggan St are (from left) Dustyn Harvey, Shaun Taylor and Cynthia Harvey.

It started out as a side hustle, but for one Toowoomba couple their idea of operating a food truck quickly evolved to the opening of a hole-in-the-wall lunch window in the CBD.

Dustyn and Cynthia Harvey launched the Chef’s Lab food truck in February, and although COVID hit one month later the savvy pair made the best of the situation and offered their gourmet food through a delivery service.

Mr Harvey said the service was surprisingly popular which allowed the business to grow over the past couple of months.

Now, the Chef’s Lab has moved to a more permanent location on Duggan St by opening a laneway window where they sell a range of tasty gourmet sandwiches from Monday to Thursday.

They also collaborate with Volcanic Brewing from Friday to Sunday where they operate the venue’s kitchen.

The Chef's Lab in Duggan St.

While operating the kitchen the menu expands to include items such as fried chicken, ribs, fries, nachos, a soba noodle salad and a Mexi bowl.

Chef’s Lab officially opened earlier this week and already city workers and loyal customers have made their way down to the laneway to order lunch.

Mr Harvey said the goal was to serve food they loved to cook and eat.

“We have tossed a few ideas around lately and our love of a good laneway experience and a damn good sandwich seemed to stick and steamroll pretty quick,” he said.

“With regards to the menu, we have taken inspiration from other locations we have visited while adding our own twist to some classics.

“We wanted to deliver something fun, and really hone in on the laneway vibe.

“The hole in the wall is a replica of our food truck and was our way of getting it into the CBD.

“While we take what we do seriously, we think it’s important to love what you do, and sharing our playful take on food is exactly that.”

He said the pair looked forward to the new year and thanked everyone who had supported them along the way.

“We have a great relationship with Pete and Toni, the owners of Volcanic, and thank them for not only embracing the collaboration we offer when the brewery is open, but the use of the location to ignite this gourmet sandwich idea,” he said.

The Chef’s Lab food truck is still operational for functions and events.

For more information follow Chef’s Lab on Facebook and visit them at 14 Duggan St.