Local food and drink directory

Palace Pies make vegan savoury pies, including minced mushroom pie, chilli chipotle pie, spinach & ricotta pie (soy) and roasted cauliflower pie. They do not use faux meat or dairy products, instead embracing the humble vegetable and letting it speak for itself. Their pastry is simply made from flour, water, coconut oil and nuttelex. They believe in sustainability in all facets of their business, from the produce to the packaging.

Panton Hill Estate Olives produces extra virgin olive oils, processed primarily as single variety oils, as well as selling table olives. It also makes a handmade range of cosmetic products, all made solely with their extra virgin olive oil, including soap, lip balm, hand scrub and calendula healing balm.

The olive varieties include Frantoio, Correggiola and Koroneiki for oil production, and Kalamata and California Queen varieties for table olives. Quality is always the primary driver at each phase of the production process and the table olives are processed on site, using the traditional salt and water brine method of curing. This takes up to six months of careful attention to ensure the resulting table olives are firm and have the distinctive taste and qualities of their varieties. Part of the secret of the flavours are the shale soils found in Nillumbik, in which olive trees thrive.

This garden is membership-based, with some allotments.

Pentridge is a new (as of late 2017) community garden within the grounds of the historic Pentridge Prison in Coburg. The old prison site is being re-developed as an integrated residential and commercial precinct with housing, cinema, hotel, cafes, retail and artists studios. The garden is located within the site on land provided by the developer, Shayher Group.

The garden is maintained by a group of local residents, with a focus on gardening together, learning from each other and building a vibrant local community. It includes fruit trees, vegetables, herbs in both communal gardening spaces and personal plots (allotments), ornamental beds, a community compost hub, open & shady spaces to sit, and plenty of activities for kids.

Please join the group to help develop the garden into a vibrant part of the Coburg community, where residents can meet, grow some food, plants and flowers, chat and enjoy some relaxing green space within the city.

There are regular open sessions at the garden, every Sunday, 9-11.30am. See their Facebook page for dates of other events.

Petty's Orchard occupies 44 hectares of land and encompasses an antique apple orchard, commercial orchard, wetlands and bird hide. It is one of Melbourne's oldest commercial orchards. It has the largest collection of heritage apple varieties on mainland Australia, including more than 200 varieties of old and rare apples.

Opening times: Mon-Fri - 5pm to midnight; Sat-Sun - midday to midnight.

Prosciutto Bros. Craft Bar is the collaboration of two craft brewers - Jamie Cox from Kooinda Brewery and Clyde D'Angelis from Sideshow Brewing. The two partners renovated a large industrial space in Eltham with recycled, up-cycled, retro and handcrafted pieces that create a rustic charm to this otherwise harsh environment.

Behind the bar built with recycled bricks is a choice of 20 taps (15 hand selected craft beers and 5 ciders from Australia) and a bottle fridge that continues the seemingly never ending choice of local crafted goodness. The best place to start is with the house tap CHOP - a special pilsner style brew. To accompany the beer list, they have carefully selected the 'stand outs' from local winemakers from the Mornington Peninsula, Yarra Valley and Geelong regions. Plus there are spirits and cocktails.

Looking in from the outside of the open plan kitchen, a glass deli cabinet presents an array of meats, cheese and antipasti ingredients to entice your taste buds and, hanging above it, are large steel hooks displaying handcrafted cured meats. There are also a range of cooked dishes, from a bbq grill and spit to pizza and gourmet sausages.

The Prosciutto Bros. have created a relaxed, happy and fun atmosphere where you can walk in, find your spot at a table, stool or booth, soak up the easy listening tunes in the background or the live weekend entertainment while awakening every taste bud with simple home style Italian family recipes washed down with a local crafty beer or two.