Thomas Dux

We loved Macro Wholefoods when it came to Hornsby. Unfortunately it didn’t survive and was bought out by Woolworths to get the location and the Macro brand.
Woolworths put Thomas Dux, their gourmet providore, in to replace it. So we tried it out. And liked it, enough that we are in there almost every week.
I wouldn’t do a whole grocery shop there as it’s more expensive than the parent supermarket downstairs, even on items that are stocked in both. However when my home delivery fruit and veg service, Lettuce Deliver, is on a break over Xmas and Easter, the fresh produce at TD is a good substitute, and there are products that you won’t find elsewhere in Hornsby.
There is a really great range of items that normally we would have to travel to «foody» suburbs for, or order online, such as Herbie’s Spices. We’ve been able to get things that we’d only ever seen on overseas cooking shows, like Spanish smoked paprika. Or small bags of the specialist bread flour that Dave likes. Willie’s Cacao for cooking. Really good vanilla. And if you are there early on a Thursday evening, there are samples of various goodies to try.
There’s also a good range of gluten free products, including cake mixes, so I’ve used then a few times when catering for parties.
Oh, and we have seen green mangoes there…

Time was when you had to travel all over the place to get good stuff to cook. Paella rice (Calaspara Bomba) was only available in Mosman. Risotto rice only at certain good Delies.
Young Thomas has fixed that. There are better specialist delies of course but for convenience and across the board quality this guy is excellent.
If only he would stock Vietnamese leaves and green mangoes.

While most things here are priced a little too high for us, to do all our shopping here, I must say I am a fan of the samples available here. Especially on the weekends it seems that you can get some juice… chips…salsa… and for the xmas season. a bit of xmas pudding…
Quite a nice haul… and a nice snack on the go…
Oh. and they also sell some of the best bar pretzels… :-)

I know Thomas Dux is all the rage right now, but I’ve well and truly jumped on the bandwagon. Just walking in there makes me feel healthier. I transform into some semblance of a MasterChef and suddenly wish to make my own stock and bake the most perfect of fruit tarts (though, obviously not together).
This store is curiously located a level above the rest of the food stores in Westfield Hornsby (a not so subtle hint, perhaps?). The good thing is you can safely visit a Thomas Dux when you’re hungry, just knowing that the friendly staff will offer you all sorts of fresh fruit and goodies to sample.
Then again, perhaps going in hungry is a dangerous move. I already have to stop myself buying the entire store. And don’t even get me started on when they had a macaroon stall out the front!