One of the items from the Kettles On delivery service. Photos: Supplied.
When Tony Neale launched a cafe to feed Shellharbour Hospital visitors and staff, he never imagined it would grow into a meal service delivering thousands of seniors home-cooked meals every week — or that his kindness would one day save his own life.
What began as a simple idea of offering decent, affordable food to tired nurses and families visiting loved ones at Shellharbour Hospital, has become a community lifeline.
Through Kettles On Cafe, Tony now delivers nutritious home cooked meals to residents from Thirroul to Kiama, many of them elderly and living alone.
“There was a call, not just from the nurses who wanted something decent to eat, but also many elderly patients and people who came in to visit loved ones in hospital that were going home basically hungry,” he said.
“A lot of them were 80 or 90 years old, living on their own and a lot of them said they can’t get around and they can’t find anything decent to eat.
“We thought, hang on a minute, let’s help them out. So we started it up from there.”
From that simple act of compassion, Kettles On has grown into both a cafe and a meal delivery network, with Tony and his team now making up to 150 deliveries a day of freshly cooked meals.
But for Tony, it’s not just about the food, it’s about connection.
“There’s so many elderly people out there that are housebound and they’re so lonely,” he said.
“A lot of them look forward to us going there, and we have a chat to them and check up on them.
“A lot of the families now are ringing us from Sydney or beyond, and they’re saying, ‘Can I order five meals for mum’, then they pay for it and we’ll drop them off to them.
“We then check on them and send back a message saying, ‘Just delivered to your mum. Her house is all locked up. She’s fine.’”
But in a remarkable twist, Tony’s instinct to give back ended up saving his own life.
He had long offered free coffees and drinks to emergency service workers on duty who dropped into the cafe — a simple gesture of gratitude for those on the front line.
Tony said one day a nurse from Shellharbour Hospital stopped by for lunch and noticed something unusual.
“She said, ‘You’ve got a lump in your neck – what’s that?’ I said, ‘I don’t have any lumps in my neck,’” he said, admitting he could be a bit of a larrikin.
The nurse insisted on checking, bringing over a portable ultrasound machine. What she found changed everything.
“That’s how my cancer was found — completely by mistake,” he said.
“That was in the November and they said if she didn’t find it, I would be dead by the February.”
Tony underwent six major surgeries in his neck, including the removal of his thyroid and part of his voice box. Just a month ago, surgeons removed a 10-centimetre piece of muscle from his chest.
“You’ve got to look on the positive side — I’m still here,” he said, his trademark humour still intact.
Today, Kettles On has become far more than a place to grab a meal — it’s a symbol of care, connection, and second chances.
Tony now runs the cafe from the Shellharbour TAFE campus, alongside the thriving home-delivered meal service, which is made up of 60 per cent elderly customers and the remainder time-poor young families seeking convenient, nutritious meal options.
“They get a decent home cooked meal, with everything cooked fresh here,” he said.
“We get people ringing up, and there might be five in the family, and the husband and wife might have a roast dinner, where the kids have pasta bolognese.
“They’ve also got them in their freezer, where if they come home from work and don’t want to cook, they’ve got something decent.”
Tony’s menu reflects traditional home cooking, with the $9 meals including hearty classics such as lamb fry and bacon, roast meals, stews, and hearty winter soups.
“We make all our own rissoles from scratch and it’s basically how I was taught by my mum,” he said.
“We even have the good ol’ fashioned cold meat salad, with a slice of pineapple, egg and different meats and potato salad.”
As he continues his cancer battle, he said he was fortunate to have incredible support from his team, wife Melissa and three children.
In fact, 12-year-old son Darcy is even learning his dad’s recipes and helping out in the kitchen.
“I’ve always been interested in cooking and always loved it,” he said.
“But I also just love sharing it with people. It makes people happy.”
Kettles On Cafe is located at the Shellharbour TAFE campus at 11 College Avenue, Oak Flats or order delivery via Facebook.
