Hildebrand Grove is a local, family-run olive grove in picturesque Cottles Bridge which has been quietly producing award-winning olive oil for ten years. Ann and David Strutt are in there at every stage of the process: tending the olive trees, harvesting and pressing the olives. The oil is produced from a blend of Corregiola and Frantoio olives and the end result - a flavoursome and award-winning extra virgin olive oil - has become a beloved staple in many local households. In addition to selling the plain extra virgin olive oil, Hildebrand Grove also produces a great range of infused oils. With a variety of tasty flavours, these are a sophisticated addition to any pantry and can be used in cooked dishes or to dress salads.
Hildebrand Ridge is dedicated to making organic wines and honouring sustainable farming. Preservative-free wines are available and sulphur preservative 220 has been eliminated from the entire range. There is live music most Sundays, 1-5pm.
Abruzzo Lab, Epping
Bar Ciconne, Macleod
Craft & Vine, Montmorency
Diamond Creek Hotel Bottle Shop
Panton Hill Hotel
The Black Sheep Hawthorn, Bar and Bottle Shop
Township/suburb:
Plenty
Municipality:
Nillumbik
Notes (in their own words):
Hillmartin Distillery is a small family owned operation, headed up by father daughter duo Gavin and Amy Shaw. They combine art and science to produce a range of gins for those with a taste for the sweet and fruity through to those who like something that is dry. And, of course, everything in between.
Holy Nuts make nut butters, nut spreads and dukkah.
The nut butters and nut spreads are made from 100% Australian ingredients, with no preservatives or emulsifiers. They are made slowly in a stone grinder until they are totally smooth. The range encompasses almond, hazelnut, macadamia and pecan. Everything is gluten, corn, soy and dairy free, and there are also vegan and keto options.
At markets, they also sell vegan and low sugar brownies, sugar free cupcakes, refined sugar free & vegan bliss balls, and vegan hot chocolate & turmeric latte made from the nut butter.
This is one of 9 community pantries around Banyule and Nillumbik. These pantries contain non-perishable food which is accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, require no appointments and are open to whoever needs food. Their philosophy is give what you can, take what you need, with people able to donate to the pantry as well.
Hurstbridge Deli & Larder is a delicatessen and kitchen offering home style cooked meals, lunches and coffee. They have lots of delicious food such as pasta (fresh homemade as well as dry and frozen), pasta sauces, antipasto, soft & hard cheeses, smoked products, frozen pies, pastries and a small range of specialty meats such as gammon, Irish sausages, steak & double smoked bacon. Much of their food is either homemade or locally sourced. They also do hampers, platters and catering for special occasions to suit all budgets.
They are open 6 days a week: Mon–Fri 8am–6.30pm and Sat 8.30am-6pm.
This initiative is one of a number of related food-related initiatives at the site (others include a food is free table, a community garden and a seed library).
The food swap is a regular get-together centred on giving, swapping, and sharing homegrown food and garden-related items with others in the community. Its aims are to increase community access to healthy homegrown food, build strong local relationships, and reduce the amount of food-related waste and materials going to compost and landfill. It's also an opportunity to meet new friends and catch up with old ones.
Take along your surplus produce or, if there’s not much going on in the garden, just bring yourself!
Fitzroy Cellars
Hop and Vine, Warrandyte
Liquorologist, Balwyn North
Lower Plenty Liquor
Northcote Bottleshop
Second Home, Eltham
Venues: Bowerbird Bar, Richmond; Craft Kitchen and Bar, Eltham; Fondata 1872, Kangaroo Ground; Jock & Eddie, Eltham; Little Black Pig & Sons, Heidelberg; Little Drop of Poison, Eltham; Mercer's Restaurant, Eltham; Next Door Warrandyte Bar and Eatery; Platform 3095, Eltham; The Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood
Township/suburb:
Research
Municipality:
Nillumbik
Notes (in their own words):
Imbue Distillery are a husband and wife team that make hand-crafted gins and gin liquers imbued with stories (and flavours) relating to where they live (Nillumbik). They are not afraid to play with flavours and, for example, their first product was gin infused with dandelion, prickly pear, blackberry and fennel, all foraged from the local area. Over time, they plan to expand to other spirits and liqueurs. Together, founders Mel and Mick Sheard share 30 years' experience in Melbourne’s food industry.
The Common Good, Hawthorn
Wild Things Food, Fitzroy North
Township/suburb:
Princes Hill
Municipality:
City of Yarra
Notes (in their own words):
Island Home make Sri Lankan curry meals, both fish and vegan, which you take home and, once heated up, are ready to eat. Their menu changes from week to week. They also make a number of accompaniments, including date and lime chutney, spicy vegetable pickle, preserved eggplants in tamarind, and semolina and rose water (Ceylon Love) cake.
As well as their ready made meals, at markets they also sell read-to-eat pan rolls.
They source their ingredients locally where possible and certified organic where possible. Their packaging is 100% home compostable, with their meals being wrapped in banana leaf and their accompaniments in recyclable glass.
Balgownie Estate, Yarra Glen
Bee Sustainable, Brunswick
East Ivanhoe Grocers - Foodworks
Foodworks Wonga Park
Metropolitan Foods, Templestowe
The Post Office, Wonga Park
Township/suburb:
Wonga Park
Municipality:
Manningham
Notes (in their own words):
J.B. Shackleton's make traditional homemade marmalade, jellies, jams and spreads using recipes handed down through their family for more than five generations. Specific products include marmalade (orange, tangelo, cumquat, lime, lemon, grapefruit), jellies (quince), jams (raspberry, boysenberry, blackberry), various honeys and panforte. Everything is made by hand, in small batches, using natural ingredients, and with all the fruit from Australia. Because they use fresh fruits, availability depends on what is in season.
J.B. Shackleton's have won a host of international awards, including Gold medals in the World’s Original Marmalade Competition in the UK in 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2020.
The company is one of the earliest to have made and sold marmalade in Melbourne, with the original shop being at 3 Elgin Street, Carlton in the 1880s. The business, however, began much earlier in the UK around 1780, probably making them one of the earliest ever makers of marmalade.
Joe's Market Garden is a 2½ acre Certified Organic farm located next to the Merri Creek. They grow mostly leafy greens, herbs and and fruiting vegetables. Their produce can be found in the CERES Fair Food veggie boxes.
It is Melbourne’s last surviving inner city market garden, having been farmed continuously by Chinese and Italian gardeners for over 150 years. CERES began farming here in 2003 under the guidance of Joe Garita.
Irrigation water is taken from the mains supply and a 100,000 litre underground water tank which collects rainwater from neighbouring townhouses.
This garden is allotment-based, for people who reside in, or pay rates to, the City of Whitehorse.
The garden was first established in 1977 and was the first community garden in Australia.
It comprises around 120 individual plots plus a few communal areas for herbs and perennials. Each plot is around 35 square metres (e.g. 9 metres by 4 metres) and the total size of the garden is almost 2 acres. Most of the plots are in-ground, with a few raised beds.
Collectively, the plot holders are culturally diverse, with the vegetables being grown therefore also being diverse.
There is some communal equipment, such as a lawn mower, wheelbarrows, spades tools and a trailer.
The garden is one of two overseen by Nunawading Community Gardens, the other being Slater Community Garden in Blackburn North. The Nunawading Community Gardens committee is responsible for both setting overall policies (e.g. no pesticides or herbicides) and for maintenance of the communal areas (e.g. some of the pathways).
They have a number of get togethers each year, to which plot holders from both of the gardens are invited. They order various products in bulk for members to buy, including seed potatoes. They also hold regular working bees to maintain the communal areas.
Casa Iberica Deli, Alphington
Casa Iberica Deli, Fitzroy
Leo's Fine Food & Wine, Heidelberg
Leo's Fine Food & Wine, Kew
Township/suburb:
Preston
Municipality:
Darebin
Notes (in their own words):
All of Juanita's products are vegan, with no preservatives, dairy, gluten or sugar. They include a range of Mexican sauces & salsas, West African sauces & marinades, and beverages (chai, hibiscus tea and a smoothie mix). Her aim is to share flavours and ingredient combinations that she has discovered, stumbled accross and loved over the years, producing products that are as close to home cooking as they can be.
Juanita also operates a cafe, the menu of which is designed around, and uses, the Juanita's Kitchen products.
Kanelle's pastries include chicken boucane, roasted vegetables, cheese, and hobey bacon & caramelised onions. Their pastries include coconut tart, cherrie tart and cupcakes. Kanelle comprises two twin brothers, originally from Lyon in France, who have been making sweet and savoury pastries for many years, ever since graduating from cookery school together. Their parents are originally from the French Caribbean, and their food reflects their French and Caribbean roots.
Darren and Farley Kelly founded Kellybrook Winery in 1962, starting with cider and then moving onto wine in the 1970s. It was the first winery in the Yarra Valley to receive it's Vigneron Licence and Cellar Door licence (1969) and it is one of the few wineries in the Yarra Valley still owned by the original family. Set amongst lush vineyards and historic gardens, the winery offers an authentic Yarra Valley tasting and working farm experience. A large range of wines, beers, ciders and local produce are available for tasting and sale. Picnics and grazing plates featuring local produce are also available all day. The gardens feature a 125-year-old oak tree which is listed with the National Trust, as well as roses, salvias and bulbs.
On the last Sunday of each month, 'Sunday Sessions' are held with live, local music from 1.30-4pm and hot food from the kitchen. Over the first weekend in May, there is the annual Kellybrook Cider Festival, soon to be in its 30th year.
This garden provides therapeutic programs for people with disabilities and is also open to the public whenever the nursery is open (Monday-Friday 9am–3pm and Saturday 8.30am-12.30pm). Visitors are welcome but are asked to report to the Main Office upon arrival.
Inspired by a visit to a garden for children with disabilities in the UK, the late Kevin Heinze believed that all people should be given the opportunity to take part in gardening activities. He saw the benefits that horticulture-based therapy and recreation programs brought to people with disabilities and wanted to introduce the concept into Australia. Working with the Kiwanis Club of Doncaster and Templestowe volunteers, he raised the seed funds required and, with the help of Manningham Council, secured a lease on some land, where the Centre opened in 1979 and continues to be located today.
Kevin Heinze GROW operates a number of initiatives including: NDIS GROW On (its ‘core program’), GROW ON Transition (for secondary school students); Grow Well (for children who have experienced trauma); CHSP (a Commonwealth Home Support Program for older people with an interest in social and recreational gardening); Grow on the Go Gardening Services (services to the local community for garden maintenance).
The garden hosts two major plant sales each year, in April and October.
Available April to November. King Valley Walnuts work with the seasons to bring you award-winning walnuts in shell and walnut kernel. They also prepare a variety of products in their farm kitchen for sale to you including pickled walnuts and yum and wicked spiced walnuts.
Kingfisher Citrus is a proudly owned and operated fourth generation family farm, nestled on the banks of the Murray River in Narrung, North West Victoria. Their citrus includes oranges, mandarins, lemons. limes, tangelos, blood oranges and grapefruit, and they also sell avocados. With a focus on flavor, their fruit is picked at maturity, is full of juice and is pesticide, fungicide and wax free. Their jams/marmalades/preserves include mulberry jam, fig jam, orange marmalade, mixed citrus marmalade, spiced oranges, lemon butter and preserved lemons. Other products include freshly squeezed juice, pure juice icy poles, onions, pumpkins, garlic and pickled garlic.
The vegetables grown by Kinglake Vegetables include: beans, beetroot, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbages (savoy & purple), capsicum, cauliflower, carrots, celery, eggplant, fennel, kale, leeks, swedes, parsnips, potatoes, pumpkin, silverbeet, snow peas, spring onions, tomatoes and zucchini. Their fruit includes: blackberries, blueberries kiwifruit and raspberries.
They grow slowly, traditionally, using their own seeds. It is colder at their farm in Kinglake than some other parts of Victoria so sometimes that means their produce isn't ready as early as other areas.
Ken King commenced planting his Kangaroo Ground vineyard in 1990. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay varieties were chosen to suit the south facing site. Initially, the high quality grapes were sold to Yarra Valley wineries. In 2001, a well-equipped winery was built and the brand 'Kings of Kangaroo Ground' commenced. All wines are handcrafted, vegan compliant (no animal products used) and the grapes are pesticide free. Other grape varieties are now sourced from local 'black soil' growers and from a select vineyard in the Heathcote region. King's passion is driven by the pursuit of excellence that can be achieved through minimalist wine-making intervention, they want their wines to be at the pinnacle of this traditional craft.
Bottlemart Ivanhoe
Bottlemart Macleod Cellars
Cardamone Gourmet Supermarket, Fairfield
East Ivanhoe Grocers - Foodworks
Leo's Fine Food & Wine, Kew
Lower Plenty Hotel Bottleshop
Lower Plenty IGA
Rosanna IGA
Sir Henry Barkly Hotel, Heidelberg
Southern Road Cellars, Heidelberg Heights
The Merri Clan, Preston
The Old Fire Station Cafe Gallery, Preston
The Olympic Hotel, Preston
Township/suburb:
Heidelberg West
Municipality:
Banyule
Notes (in their own words):
Kooinda (an Aboriginal word meaning "happy place") is a boutique brewery producing natural, unfiltered, unpasteurised, quality ales. After starting out as the first ever residentially-licensed brewery in Australia, it has recently expanded into a commercial brewery (using a production line apparatus once belonging to Mountain Goat) and now sells 8 different beers all-year round.
Fresh strawberries available mid October to mid June, raspberries available December to June, blackberries available from late December to mid March, and boysenberries and logonberries available in season. Fresh, hot homemade soup, frozen berries and award-winning homemade jams and syrups available all year. The soup is organic, Vegan-friendly and gluten-free. Most of the berries are spray-free.
La Louche make ready-to-eat savoury galettes and sweet crepes, including both gluten-free and vegan options. Where possible, they use local fruit and vegetables.
Kinglake Produce and Artisan Market
Yarra Glen Racecourse Market
Township/suburb:
Kilsyth
Municipality:
Yarra Ranges
Notes (in their own words):
La Villa Salumi make pork sausages, bacon and smoked smallgoods which they sell at markets.
Sausages as they should be: pork, salt, spices and herbs. No preservatives, gluten, rice, rusk or filler. Herbs and spices are hand blended (no commercial mix here), and sausages are hand tied using natural casings. None of the meat has been frozen, allowing customers to freeze at home if they desire.
A sweeter, Canadian style of bacon: slow-cured with maple syrup and brown sugar, then double-smoked in-house. As this bacon is dry cured, it does not contain excess water weight, which means it provides consistent cooking and crisping. Available sliced to any thickness, as lardons, slabs or whole bellies.
Smoked American-style franks: made using the same quality pork as the sausages. Finely ground pork is blended with a hint of chilli and select (hand blended) herbs and spices, then smoked in-house to provide a smoky frank with a great snap.
Kielbasa (polish garlic sausage): a traditional Polish recipe forms the basis of this smoked garlic sausage which is ready to eat. A small amount of beef is incorporated with pork and fresh garlic, along with herbs and spices, hand tied into rings and smoked. The result is a distinct garlic flavour with good mouth feel.
This garden is open to the public, with free membership (gold coin donation) and communal garden beds.
This is a new and developing community garden. The purpose of Links Community Garden Lalor is to foster community connections though the use of this space. It will include activities such as gardening, cooking, preserving, sustainability, sensory gardens, providing meals for those in need, upcycling, outdoor mothers or other social groups, eating or simply enjoying being in nature.
There are regular meetups at the garden, every Saturday, 10am-midday. All people of all ages are welcome, whether you're a gardening wizard or don't know a root from a branch.
Loco for Cocoa make a wide range of chocolate bars, all full of flavour and interesting textures. There are 22 different flavour combinations, including some vegan options. Other than the cacao beans, they try to only use locally sourced ingredients.
They also sell rocky road, pretzel crunch biscuits and salted caramel fudges.
Love Is Coffee sells four different coffees: Ethiopian, Nicaraguan, Peruvian and Timorean. The coffee can be bought as either roasted beans or as ground coffee. The coffee is roasted on the day of the market using Certified Organic, fair trade coffee beans.
The garden caters for a wide range of abilities and has a number of membership-options. The idea behind the garden is to share knowledge and to learn from each other. There is a mixture of individual and communal plots that are maintained through monthly working bees. The people come together through their mutual love of growing and, if you become a member, you will have the opportunity to meet and share with like-minded individuals, it will save you money over the long term and you will have a positive environmental impact by turning waste into a resource. A committee, who are dedicated to maintaining its future, runs the garden.
Each ingredient in Magic Muesli's muesli and porridge is selected for the important role that it plays in maintaining a healthy body and mind. Oats and psyllium are a good source of dietary fibre. Goji berries contain antioxidants and cranberries contain vitamin C. Ground linseeds, sunflower seeds and almonds release the good fatty acids and whole linseeds aid digestion. Walnuts and chia seeds provide essential omega-3. And almonds, pumpkin seeds, buckwheat, sesame seeds and currants add goodness. The muesli is not toasted and contains no added sugar, no syrups, no juice, no added fats, and no preservatives – just raw and natural.
Eastfield Organic Natural Food Market, Croydon South
Township/suburb:
Ringwood East
Municipality:
Maroondah
Notes (in their own words):
Mama Bakes Naturally makes allergy-friendly hand-made treats which are completely free from gluten, dairy, egg, nuts, refined sugar, GMOs or any artificial ingredients.
Bicycle Thieves Cafe, Northcote
Briki cafe, Thornbury
Dineamic Cafe, Carlton North
Dineamic Food, Camberwell
East Elevation, Brunswick East
Little Woodpecker, Blackburn North
McAdam’s Apple, Croydon
Richmond Rush Cafe
Warrandyte Stonehouse Cafe
Wild Things Food, Fitzroy North
Township/suburb:
Thornbury
Municipality:
Darebin
Notes (in their own words):
Manuko make a range of chocolate slices and truffles, stocked in select cafes and specialty retailers around Melbourne. All products are made from Certified Organic ingredients, and are raw, gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar free and vegan. Their products have a two month shelf life when stored refrigerated.
Their slices include salted caramel, turkish delight, hazelnut ganache, otway walnut ganache, peanut crunch, matcha mint, choc jaffa and choc coconut. Their truffles include original, turkish delight and mint.
Mary Monica Gin only started out business in 2020 and their first product is called 'oriental gin', which is a south east asian inspired citrus gin. They live on a regenerative citrus farm in the Yarra Valley where they grow the botanicals used to flavour their gins. Their key botanicals are picked fresh in season and distilled within 24 hours. Timing is everything. This means that, when the season's batch is sold, they do not produce any more gin until the next fruit is on the trees.
Finally, whence the name Mary Monica Gin? Mary Monica was the owner's Great, Great Grandmother, who ran a pub in Chapel Street, South Yarra, during the great depression.
Local Fine Foods, Diamond Creek
Mernda Cafe Convenience
Township/suburb:
Doreen
Municipality:
Whittlesea
Notes (in their own words):
Maya 'Xala Honey make pure and natural honey which they sell in 600g jars.
The owner, Nathan Stewart, is also the resident beekeeper at Rivers of Yarrambat.
"Maya'Xala" as it is an Indigenous word that means treat others and things the way you want to be treated (i.e. with respect). This sacred teaching and inter-connectedness could really help modern western ways of living.
Melbourne Bushfood's overall mission is to put Aussie native foods into stomachs across the world, whilst supporting their First Nations and small Aussie farmer allies. To progress this mission, they sell both native edible plants and food products made with native edible plants.
They have partnered with Nyul Nyul Elder and Traditional Owner Bruno Dann, helping to grow his mob's harvest and to purchase critical infrastructure needed for his remote community. Read more.
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