Condiments & Makers

Alberto’s Delicacies
Products:
Pestos, pasta, gnocchi, antipasto and pasta sauces
Local outlets:
Yarra Glen Racecourse Market
Township/suburb:
Preston
Municipality:
Darebin
Notes (in their own words):

Alberto’s Delicacies use old family recipes and have been servicing small markets for around 12 years.

All Seasons Cooking Classes
Products:
Seasonal preserves & pickles, dahl mix, veggie slice mix and flavoured couscous
Local outlets:
Fruitland, Ringwood East
The Full Pantry, Croydon
The Meat-Inn Place, Lilydale
Township/suburb:
Croydon
Municipality:
Maroondah
Notes (in their own words):

All Seasons Cooking Classes make a variety of condiments. These include seasonal preserves & pickles, miso hot sauce, dahl mix, veggie slice mix & other mixes and flavoured couscous. Each is made in small batches, with no nasties. All are vegan and most are gluten-free. Most of the dry ingredients come from Terra Madre and are Certified Organic. The aim is to help people easily create healthy, fast and tasty meals.

The packaging is all either recyclable or compostable.

Alot of Good Stuff
Products:
Preserves and biscuits
Local outlets:
Own shop (Monday to Friday, 7am-2pm).
Township/suburb:
Bulleen
Municipality:
Manningham
Notes (in their own words):

Alot of Good Stuff’s preserves and biscuits are all made from locally-sourced produce and high quality ingredients. They are handmade in small batches in their shop to assure peak freshness and to maintain quality. They include gluten-free options.

Australian Harvest / Bio Grape
Products:
Certified organic horseradish vinegar, mustards, jams, chutneys, sauces and BIO-GRAPE fruit pastes
Certified Organic
Local outlets:
Township/suburb:
Coldstream
Notes (in their own words):

Certified Organic, award-winning, handmade gourmet foods that not only taste great but are also good for you. Horseradish vinegar, mustards, jams, chutneys, sauces and a range of four Panforte di Australia (quince, sambucca, ginger, siena). BIO-GRAPE range of delicious fruit pastes to serve with cheese, red wine, and chilli sauce. They are a family business, with only family members working in the business, who have been hand making certified organic and functional foods for over 25 years under their AUSTRALIAN HARVEST ORGANICS and BIO-GRAPE Brands.

AVS Organic Foods
Products:
Vegan products: non-dairy cheese and cream, sauces, pies, black salt and pet treats
Local outlets:
Aunt Maggies, Carlton
Aunt Maggies, Fitzroy
Best of Health, Greensborough
Eastfield Organic Natural Food Market, Croydon South
Leo’s Fine Food & Wine, Heidelberg
Leo’s Fine Food & Wine, Kew
Local Fine Foods, Diamond Creek
Naturally On High, Thornbury
Oasis Fairfield
Quintons SUPA IGA, Warrandyte
Sculli Brothers, Greensborough
Terra Madre, Northcote
The Cruelty Free Shop, Fitzroy
Vegan mini market, Abbotsford
Wholefood Merchants, Greensborough
Wild Things Food, Fitzroy North
Township/suburb:
Watsonia North
Municipality:
Banyule
Notes (in their own words):

AVS Organic Foods (formally A Vegan Smiles) aims to create and provide tasty foods that are free from animal cruelty.

AVS focuses on non-dairy cheeses using different techniques that include culturing, ageing and fermenting. You don’t have to be vegan to enjoy vegan cheese.

AVS is a strong advocate for animal welfare and was founded on a desire to educate non-vegans that foods can taste great (even better without animal products), coupled with the frustration of the limitation in purchasing vegan-friendly or dairy-free products when out with family and friends.

Billy van Creamy
Products:
Vegan and dairy ice cream plus waffle cones, seasonal drinks and some other menu items.
Local outlets:
Own shops
Various festivals and community events
Township/suburb:
Fitzroy North
Municipality:
City of Yarra
Notes (in their own words):

Billy Van Creamy make ice cream free from artificial stabilisers, emulsifiers and flavours. It offers a wide range of dairy, vegan, gluten free and halal-friendly flavours made with fresh, locally sourced produce – and nothing else. Local suppliers include Schulz Organic Dairy, St David, Burd Eggs and Petty’s Orchard. They pit their own fruit, pick their own herbs, grind their own nuts, bake their own biscuits and make their own jams, so you can rest assured knowing everything in their ice cream is real and wholesome.

As well as ice cream, they make waffle cones (made daily), seasonal drinks some other menu items (e.g. jams and butters). They also offer cakes which are available via pre-order as well as catering for weddings and events.

Sustainability practices and impact on the environment are important to Billy Van Creamy. They source organic ingredients, where possible, from small producers and reduce waste by using stainless steel spoons for tastings, reusable dine-in options, and ‘BYO containers’ for takeaway. Milk is supplied in large bladders rather than small bottles and they are constantly trying to find better ways of reducing and disposing of waste.

Chef’s Fine Food
Products:
Pies, pates, terrines, pesto, tapenade and relishes
Local outlets:
Own shop – Monday to Friday, 9.30am – 5.30pm (recommend that you call first)
Eltham Gourmet Poultry
Township/suburb:
Eltham
Municipality:
Nillumbik
Notes (in their own words):

Using locally-sourced, grass-fed beef and free-range chicken from the Yarra Valley, Erin and David Turnley have built a solid reputation over the last 10 years as producing some of the best family gourmet pies in the region. Their pie range includes chunky beef, chicken, scallop, roast vegetable and apple. At the local markets that they frequent, you can also sample their array of pates which includes chicken, duck, salmon and venison. Basil and coriander pesto and duck and chicken terrines are also available for sale. All ingredients are sourced locally, with grass-fed beef, and chicken, duck and venison which is free range and hormone free.

Holy Nuts
Name:
Products:
Nut butters, nut spreads and dukkah
Local outlets:
Township/suburb:
Thomastown
Municipality:
Whittlesea
Notes (in their own words):

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.

Juanita’s Kitchen
Products:
Mexican and West African sauces. Also, selected beverages.
Local outlets:
Own shop
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.

Kookaberry Strawberry Farm
Products:
Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, figs, persimmon. Jams, syrups and vinegars. Soup, berry pies and frozen berries.
Local outlets:
Notes (in their own words):

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.

Nick’s Gnocchi & Pasta
Products:
A variety of pastas. Sauces.
Local outlets:
Floridia Cheese, Thomastown
Granieri’s Food Services, Epping
Local Fine Foods, Diamond Creek
Rosanna Fine Produce
Sculli Brother’s, Greensborough
Township/suburb:
Greensborough
Municipality:
Nillumbik
Notes (in their own words):

Nick’s Gnocchi & Pasta make cut pastas (fettuccine, spaghetti, etc), filled pastas (cannelloni and ravioli), lasagne and handmade gnocchi. They also make bolognese and napoletana sauces.

Their pastas are made fresh then frozen (this is the best way to preserve fresh pasta if not cooking within a few days from purchase). They don’t use any preservatives.

Nick started his business in 2019 when he was 19 years of age. It is now a family run business, “like Nonna’s, but Nick’s.” Nick was Nillumbik’s Young Business Achiever for 2022.

Offaly Good Food
Products:
Chicken liver pate. Also mushroom pate.
Certified Organic ingredients
Local outlets:
5th Element Wellness, Fitzroy North
Apples and Sage Organic Wholefoods, Balwyn
Belmore Meats, Hawthorn
Boccaccio SUPA IGA, Balwyn
Cannings Free Range Butcher, Ivanhoe
Cannings Free Range Butcher, Hawthorn
Cannings Free Range Butcher, Kew
Eastfield Organic Natural Food Market, Croydon South
Fitzroy Mills Market
Hagens Organic Butcher, Richmond
McCoppins Hawthorn
Moondog Craft Brewery, Abbotsford
Natural Life Plenty Valley, South Morang
Naturally On High, Thornbury
Organic Wholefoods, Brunswick
Organic Wholefoods, Fitzroy
Quintons SUPA IGA, Warrandyte
Rhubarb Rhubarb Organics, Preston
Terra Madre, Northcote
The Common Good, Hawthorn
Wild Things Food, Fitzroy North
Yarra Valley Poultry, Eltham.
Township/suburb:
Carlton
Notes (in their own words):

Offaly Good Food’s chicken liver pate is made from Certified Organic chicken livers. All of the livers come from chickens that are already being used for meat, hence no waste. The chickens are placed on a balanced diet, in clean housing and are free to roam as they please during the day.

Organic Times
Products:
Certified Organic chocolate, cookies, dairy, powders and sweeteners
Certified Organic
Local outlets:
Apples and Sage Organic Wholefoods, Balwyn
Leo’s Fine Food & Wine, Heidelberg
Rhubarb Rhubarb Organics, Preston
Township/suburb:
Bayswater
Notes (in their own words):

Considering the many artificial additives, GMOs, and other expendable food processes that we are unwittingly subjected to, Organic Times wants to provide a range of quality, fair-trade chocolate products that not only taste delicious but are made from certified organic ingredients that are both better for us and for Mother Nature too.

Their signature line is their Organic Chocolate Licorice, which goes magically with their chocolate. Complementing this magic taste is Rapadura sugar – an ingredient in their chocolate – grown and produced by Hand-in-Hand, their fair-trade partners. The special thing about Rapadura is that it is an unrefined sugar made from minimally processed organic cane sugar. This means that the molasses and all the goodness remains in the sugar, creating a rich, caramel flavour and a higher mineral and vitamin content.

As innovators of introducing organic chocolate-coated produce to the market, they use premium, organic couverture chocolate and specialise in coating organic produce such as macadamia nuts, roasted almonds, hazelnuts, coffee-beans, sultanas, ginger and licorice. Their range comes in both dark and milk chocolate.

Their chocolate is made using certified organic cacao bought through the Hand-in-Hand fair-trade system which is then processed and manufactured according to an old-established Swiss chocolate recipe. The produce they coat is also certified organic. They use fair-trade organic coffee-beans and most of their other produce is sourced from Australian organic farmers.

In addition to their chocolate-coated line, they also bake delicious, home-style organic cookies, using their organic chocolate in a variety of flavours. And if you are looking for organic ingredients, they offer butter, sugar, flour, cocoa and carob powder.

PoppySmack
Products:
Asian sauces
Arthur St Deli, Fairfield
Boccaccio SUPA IGA, Balwyn
Colonial Fruit Company, Forest Hill
Fish Pier, Eastland, Ringwood
Fish Pier, The Pines, Doncaster East
FoodWorks Research
Heathmont IGA
Jefferies, Croydon Hills
Kinglake Produce and Artisan Market
Leo’s Fine Food & Wine, Heidelberg
Leo’s Fine Food & Wine, Kew
Local Pantry Co, Preston Market
Made Locally, Ringwood North
Max & Leo’s Foodstore Cafe, Blackburn
McCoppins Clifton Hill
Northcote IGA
Paul’s SUPA IGA, Ringwood East
Quintons SUPA IGA, Warrandyte
Renaissance IGA, Hawthorn
Saltylicious Himalayan Salt, Preston Market
Township/suburb:
Warrandyte
Municipality:
Manningham
Notes (in their own words):

PoppySmack’s products include viet dipping sauce, tangy tamarind sauce, caramelised pineapple sauce and salty sweet hoisin. These sauces are home recipes and full of yummy goodness. All their products are gluten-free and dairy-free, with no preservatives added. At the markets that they sell at, they also demonstrate how to make rice paper rolls for free tasting.

Si Mangia
Name:
Products:
Tomato puree, pasta sauce and olives
Local outlets:
Township/suburb:
Reservoir
Municipality:
Darebin
Notes (in their own words):

Si Mangia started as Mangia Mangia in 2015. After the success of their books that promote traditional Southern Italian seasonal foods, they saw a need in the market for locally-made tomato products that remained faithful to traditional cooking methods. The results so far are: passata di pomodoro (tomato puree); sugo pronto (ready made pasta sauce); olives cured and dressed according to traditional Calabrian recipes; and capsicum paste for salumi.

Smoke and Roast
Products:
Smoked sea salt
Local outlets:
Own shop – by appointment only
Yarra Glen Racecourse Market
Township/suburb:
Eltham
Municipality:
Nillumbik
Notes (in their own words):

Smoke and Roast is a distinctly Australian flavour, that all Aussies will love. There is no gluten or MSG in Smoke and Roast; rather it is predominantly natural Australian sea salt that has been carefully blended with a range of herbs and spices. Use it instead of salt and pepper to transform an everyday meal into a gourmet feast that will tantalise your taste buds. Just added to their range are Smoke and Peri, which has all the fantastic ingredients of Smoke and Roast with a gorgeous peri peri twist (for those who love a bit more spice and heat in their cooking), and Smoke and Curry. The colour is sensational. The taste is even better. Use this in white sauce dishes, and as a secret ingredient to lift all your favourite recipes.

Spurrell Foraging
Products:
Preserves and foraged produce
Township/suburb:
Warrandyte South
Municipality:
Manningham
Notes (in their own words):

Spurrell Foraging sell both foraged produce and (sometimes) preserves.

A list of their foraged produce, together with its prices, can also be found on their website and they include a wide range of flowers and leaves. They are mainly sold to bars and restaurants.

When available, a list of their preserves for sale can also be found on their website and they include chutneys, cordials, sauces, jams, marmalades, pastes, pickles, relishes and salts. They use Australian native botanicals and some foraged produce. You can buy these products by email.

In May 2022, Ann Stanley visited Spurrell Foraging. Read her writeup of the visit.

Take Me Home
Products:
Pastas, gnocchi, pizza bases, pasta sauces and crostatas
Local outlets:
Own shop
Aunt Maggies, Brunswick
Aunt Maggies, Fitzroy
Balwyn Fruit Supply
Biviano and Sons, Fairfield
Brunswick Supa IGA
Fredericks Local Grocer, Richmond
La Manna Fresh, Brunswick
Leo’s Fine Food & Wine, Heidelberg
Leo’s Fine Food & Wine, Kew
Monaco’s Deli, Camberwell
Renaissance IGA, Hawthorn
Signorellis Fresh Fruiterers, Balwyn North
Wild Things Food, Fitzroy North
Township/suburb:
Coburg
Municipality:
Merri-Bek
Notes (in their own words):

Take Me Home are a family run artisan pasta business. They make everything by hand using traditional techniques and their Italian family’s recipes. They do not use any preservatives or additives. They grow as many of their veggies as they can at their farm in Thorpdale (Gippsland) and, apart from that, use local ingredients where possible.

Under The Pickle Tree
Products:
Relishes, stir fry sauces, curries, pastes, pickles and sauces
Local outlets:
Clint Meaghers Quality Meats, Hurstbridge
Lettuce Inn, Hurstbridge
Local Fine Foods, Diamond Creek
Panton Hill General Store
Research Fruit Supply
Township/suburb:
Panton Hill
Municipality:
Nillumbik
Notes (in their own words):

Under the Pickle Tree is a maker of premium quality relishes, stir fry sauces, curries and pastes. Proprietar Kelly Meredith inherited some of her grandmother’s recipes and created unique recipes influenced by her time living and working in Thailand and Vietnam. All of the Under the Pickle Tree range is made in small batches in a registered kitchen and every effort is made to source produce locally.

The product range includes: spicy tomato relish, burmese sauce, asian apple sauce, pickled cucumbers and ploughman’s pickle (300gm). Pastes include lemongrass, goan marsala, green curry, red curry and yellow curry (190gm). To cater for vegans, they have a vegan version of its best-selling lemongrass paste and a vegan red curry paste. Catering tubs are available. Their spicy tomato relish is made with tomatoes from Echuca that would otherwise be bulldozed into landfill; their apple sauce is made with Strathewen apples and pears; and their lemongrass paste uses Hildebrand Grove olive oil and local kaffir lime leaves.

Yarra Valley Gourmet Foods
Products:
Salad dressings, jams, jellies, mustards, cordials, chutneys, mayonnaise, vinegars, and infused oils
Local outlets:
Abbotsford IGA
Alowyn Gardens, Yarra Glen
Aumanns at Warrandyte
Balgownie Estate, Yarra Glen
Blue Hills Berries and Cherries, Balwyn
Charlie’s Chocolate Bouquets, Croydon
Coburg IGA
Deliland at Northland, Preston
Dench Bakers, Fitzroy North
Farinacci Deli, Preston
Fergusson Winery & Restaurant, Dixons Creek
Frootz on Parade, Fitzroy North
Gervasi Continental Deli, Brunswick
Glenferrie Gourmet Meats, Hawthorn
Heathmont IGA
IGA Blackburn North
IGA Blackburn
Il Cestino, Kew
Jefferies, Croydon Hills
Kuranga Native Nursery, Mount Evelyn
Lavish Abode, Lilydale
Leo’s Fine Food & Wine, Heidelberg
Leo’s Fine Food & Wine, Kew
Made Locally, Ringwood North
Mirabella’s of Doncaster
Miss Gourmet & Co, Hawthorn
Montrose IGA
Northcote IGA
Oakridge Wines, Coldstream
Paul’s SUPA IGA, Ringwood East
Piedimonte’s Supermarket & Liquor, Fitzroy North
Punt Road Winery, Coldstream
Quintons SUPA IGA, Warrandyte
Red Coral Seafood, Bayswater
Renaissance IGA, Hawthorn
Research Fruit Supply, Research
Ritchies SUPA IGA Diamond Creek
Ritchies SUPA IGA Ringwood North
Ritchies SUPA IGA Yarra Glen
Rochford Wines, Coldstream
Templestowe SUPA IGA
The Bosses Boots Cafe, Chirnside Park
The Cellar Door Providore, Ringwood
The Deli Coburg
The Roast Kitchen, Kew
The Yarra Store, Warrandyte
Top Shelf Fruits, Forest Hill
Tunstall Deli, Doncaster East
Wild Wombat Cafe, Hurstbridge
Yarra Farm Fresh, Coldstream
Yering Station Produce Store/Winery, Yarra Glen
various Woolworths
Township/suburb:
Wandin North
Municipality:
Yarra Ranges
Notes (in their own words):

Yarra Valley Gourmet Foods brings together the freshest local produce in a collection of gourmet salad dressings, jams, jellies, mustards, cordials, chutneys, mayonnaise, vinegars, and infused oils. Produced in small batches from the finest ingredients.

Yarra Valley Gourmet Foods’ brands include Yarra Valley Preserves, Yarra Valley Larder and Mad Dog.