A Little Baker St Andrews produces traditional handmade organic sourdough breads plus a range of artisan croissants, cakes and savouries, all baked in a wood-fired oven. The process includes resting the dough for a minimum of 6 hours from mixing to baking, with this resting time giving the bread a unique flavour and texture and making it easily digestible. All the breads are both yeast and preservative free, using the Lactobacillus bacteria for fermentation. Local ingredients are used where possible, including: berries from Kinglake, honey from Hurstbridge, citrus fruits, mushrooms and olive oil.

Now a cafe as well as a bakery.

Caffe Strada makes a wide range of gluten free bread, which is available from both its own shop in Ivanhoe and a variety of other outlets in nearby suburbs.

Caffe Strada is also a cafe which focuses on producing healthy, flavoursome gluten-free food. The cafe is a 100% gluten-free environment and they bake all of their products. Their homemade sausage rolls are fructose-free.

Harry Hoo started making dim sims 20 years ago and now sell a range of asian entrees at markets around Melbourne. All of their products are made fresh weekly, using locally sourced ingredients wherever possible, and with no fillers, artificial colours or flavours.

Nillumbik Cellars have been trading for over 30 years and are on hand to provide tasting advice. Promoting great local wines are their speciality and they know the area, the wine makers and, most importantly, the local grape-growing conditions. Albert Di Pietro and his staff conduct regular wine tastings. Nillumbik Cellars also has an adjoining cafe, the Vines Cafe, where you can sit and relax after your wine tasting.

The Shillinglaw Cottage re-opened in January 2016 under new management and is now a family owned and operated cafe focusing on locally sourced produce, great coffee, chef-made food and friendly service. It offers a dining room and a coffee area as well as an alfresco garden with large children’s sandpit, all shaded by a significant old oak tree. Head Chef Bruno Lima and his team have developed an eclectic and diverse menu, offering fresh, local, free range and organic ingredients where possible. All-day breakfast, lunches, coffee and cakes with gluten-free, dairy-free and paleo options are served, as well as a ‘Little Shillings’ menu for the kids. Open on both week days and weekends. Shillinglaw is also fully licensed and the historical cottage can be hired for private functions.

Shillinglaw is next door to the Eltham Library and close to Alistair Knox park. They are just a short walk from the Eltham town centre and the train station, plus the 902 bus will drop you off at their door.

A little about the history of Shillinglaw cottage, built by pioneers, saved by locals. The cottage was built in 1859 and is constructed from handmade bricks in a Flemish bond pattern. In the 1960s, it was marked for demolition to make way for new council buildings, but a group was formed by the locals to save the cottage. One of the fundraising efforts was the publication of a cookery book “Flavour of Eltham”, which was re-printed four times. Brick by brick, the cottage was dismantled and re-built in its original form in its current location.

Open during school terms only. The coffee shop is open Monday to Friday, 10am-1pm. In terms 1 to 3, The restaurant is open on Monday to Thursday, 6.30-9pm, during Terms 1-3. In Term 4, the restaurant is open on Monday and Tuesday, 6.30-9pm. Bookings essential.

ELTHAM College owns and operates a Hospitality Training Centre and fully-functional winery, cafe and restaurant called Swipers Gully. Young people in Years 8 and 9 operate the college coffee shop within the restaurant, with particular focus on Year 9 students exploring employment and work experience opportunities. The Centre also allows young people in Years 10, 11 and 12 to participate in a number of VET and VCE options as well as vocational certificates – with most of our young people participating in at least one. The Swipers Gully restaurant is open to the public, so come join us for a delicious meal and you will also be helping our students gain nationally accredited training qualifications in Hospitality. Guest Chef evenings are usually held twice a year, with a 5 course dinner matched to wines; they have previously featured renowned local chefs Stephen Mercer (Mercers, Eltham) and Gordon Brown (Brownkortes).

Turners Bakehouse Eatery is a historic bakery offering authentic sourdough breads, pies, cakes and pastries baked in its traditional wood fired Scotch oven that was built in the late 1890’s by Charles & Stephenson Turner. After being closed in the 1940’s and left vacant for many years, the bakery has been lovingly restored. Their signature hand-made sourdough is made with a mother culture of wild natural yeast that is over 100 years old and which is fed and cared for daily. Ask for a tour of the bakery.

Open Thursday to Saturday (no vegetables on Thursday). As well as a wide range of Certified Organic fruit and vegetables, Yarra Organics also sells grocery products, drinks, treats and dairy products. Everything sold is Certified Organic.

At their cafe, you can enjoy Jasper Organic & Fairtrade coffee and tea with organic milk and soy milk, gourmet pies, homemade delicious cakes, muffins and biscuits. Sit down and enjoy your coffee and treat while the kids play in the indoor play area or explore the outdoor playground. They cater for all dietary requirements with gluten free, egg free, dairy free, nut free, vegetarian and vegan options.

Most of Yarra Valley Dairy’s cheeses are fresh, soft style cheeses made in a style that reflects the farmhouse cheese of France and Italy, although their mature cheeses have also become an important part of their range. The cheeses are made from cow’s milk from nearby Yarra Valley dairy farms and goat’s milk from Gippsland.

All of their cheeses are available for purchase in their Cheese Shop, alongside a range of carefully selected regional produce and local wines. Cheese plates, together with locally baked fresh breads and various regionally produced charcuterie items, are also available to purchase and eat in. The Cheese Shop is open 10.30am-5:00pm every day (except Christmas Day), and is located in a 100 year-old milking shed with beautiful views of the Yarra Valley. You can also view the making of the cheese through a viewing window.