Best Markets in Templestowe and Beyond

The Best Markets in Templestowe and Surrounds

Markets in Templestowe and surrounds.

There is nothing I enjoy more than spending my weekend wandering through a gorgeous, local Farmers Market before heading home with a basket full of produce to cook for myself and my family.

Shopping at a Farmers’ Market inspires creativity don’t you think? If you find an authentic local market then you have found the local growers, makers, bakers and creators in your community.

Well I have made it my mission to research, visit and discover as many of the best markets in Templestowe and beyond.

Templestowe is a little gem of a Suburb to live in, with great proximity to the City, its own river frontage, interesting architecture, extensive and sprawling parklands, great shopping and easy access to The Artisan Hills and stunning surrounding Countryside

Mushrooms and Chocolate and a very sweet Saturday

JoBo and I went along to a little mushroom tour on Saturday morning, starting at Prahran Market, progressing to Parwan Valley Mushrooms and then  ending up back at Prahran Market for a delicious lunch.

It was wonderful learning about how mushrooms grow and are harvested. In my kitchen I plan to show each individual mushroom much more love and respect from now on. Perhaps a brief salute or wink before cooking will suffice?

More about mushrooms to come.

To finish the fungi festivities we attended a lovely soiree catered by the team at Tommy Collins Kitchen. Tommy and co worked their chef-y magic on the mycelium (I learnt a lot yes?) and presented us with a delicious assortment of mushroom based dishes. JoBo and I could not decide which one dish we preferred because they were all ten types of delicious.

I am now inspired to see what mushroom-y magic I can conjure in my own kitchen.

The day concluded with the presentation of the most amazing cake crafted by Tad Lombardo from Cioccolato Lombardo. Tad tells us that he worked on the “On the forest floor” themed cake for more than two weeks. The cake was made in honour of Damian Pike’s 30 years as a stallholder at Prahran Market.

They let me eat some cake. Can you believe it? This stunning confection was cut up and shared with all and its delicious sweetness is still on my mind. If you can get your hands on one of Cioccolato Lombardo’s chocolate caramel’s then do it. They were oh so delicious.

I loved hanging out with JoBo, the mushrooms and the cake.

Big thanks to Prahran Market, Vikki Leng and Australian Mushrooms for the fun(gi) times.

Happy Eating.

Dani xx

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Dani B is a food blogger from Melbourne. She writes about “good food for a good life” at Eat My Street. She also hosts an online cooking club for other enthusiastic foodies. Follow along on Facebook or sign up to find out more.

Tasting Australia Festival and Words To Go 2016

Eat My Street was invited to attend the Tasting Australia Words To Go 2016 Festival in Adelaide this year as part of the bloggers contingent for the Words To Go Conference. I was very excited and honoured to be invited along to hear some wonderful presenters talk about food writing and blogging and also to taste and see all that South Australia has to offer at its premier food festival.

The Tasting Australia Festival ran from the 1st to the 8th of May in the town square in Adelaide and it is a free event open to the general public. Food trucks, regional kitchens and produce stores, cooking demonstrations, classes, dinners and much more combine together to create the program for the Festival.

Faces of Adelaide Market

Way back on the 23rd of January, 1869, the Adelaide Market was formed by a group of local producers who had previously been selling their wares at the Adelaide wholesale market. This enthusiastic little group started out in style with a dozen wagons full of fresh food and a brass band. I would like to think we could all learn a thing or two from this determined group of purveyors and from now on I will start all my new ventures being accompanied by a brass band.

The City Market as it was then called, was an instant success and the stallholders sold out of all their fresh food on that first day.  Shoot forward 147 years with a little pause for a relaunch in 1965, and Adelaide now has the Adelaide Central Market, home to the greatest number of fruit and veg stalls out of any market in Australia.

Dandenong Market Tour

Dandenong Market Free Food Tour

By Amy

We are so blessed to live in this city of Melbourne and be surrounded by people of all different cultures, races, colours and cuisines. My own mother spent some of her formative years in Malaysia and developed a love for delicious, spicy cuisine and regularly ventured outside the “meat and three veg” in her own cooking.  I love visiting the homes of my friends from other cultures, whether that be Malay, Indian, Polish, Ethiopian or Mexican, and feasting on homemade stir fries, curries and other Asian delicacies.

The city of Greater Dandenong is one city where this mixing bowl of flavours is most clearly seen. A walk along the main drag will take you pass Afghan bazaars, Polish delis, Vietnamese bakeries, Indian spice shops and Middle Eastern grocers. You can browse through shops selling swathes of beautiful fabrics for saris, nestled next to hair dressers dedicated to the needs of African women. The star of the show though is the famous Dandenong Market.

Today, my mum and I ventured out to experience one of the best kept secrets of the foodie world— the Free Food Discovery tour.

Yes. That’s right. Free.

There is a free, one hour tour of the incredible Dandenong Market. Honestly, if you’re not excited by this then I don’t know what will excite you.

The tours run every Tuesday and Friday at 10am and go for about an hour.

A guide (we had Russell, the resident chef) meets you at Market Management before giving each participant a gift bag with a $5 voucher, a tub of spices from Sam’s Spice and Grocery, recipes and some information about the market.

We were then told some facts about the market.

• It’s the oldest in Melbourne!
• There are around 167 different nationalities who call the city of Greater Dandenong home!
• Dandenong Market underwent a major refurbishment done 6 years ago, ensuring that the market is now all undercover!

We were then taken to visit some of the long-standing stall holders. These visits included

• incredible delis where we tried olives, kabana and cured beef
• the “Why Not Wooden Bakery” where we were treated to some freshly baked zaatar
• TC’s Asian butcher
• Hellenic Seafood (the 3^rd store- this one run by the grandkids of the original stockholder)
• the various nut sellers and
• the organic grocers.

We were shown how to get the best bargains, where we could haggle and which retailers sold what kind of produce. We were shown the difference in the produce sold between the Halal butchers and the Asian butchers; the Greek grocers and the Vietnamese grocers; the Polish deli and the Middle Eastern deli.

 

Despite all this educational goodness being fed to us it was slightly overshadowed by the excitement that was brought by the best taster of the day- a whole Hot Jam Doughnut from the famous Dandee Donut Van. Yep.

Say. No. More.

The tour finished with a few more testers from the Market Hall food court (a deliciously fresh cooked falafel and a refreshing shot of sugar cane juice) before Russell bid us farewell.

Mum and I spent a few more hours at the market, checking out the produce, spending our vouchers, people watching and enjoying the cooking demonstration which is also on every Tuesday and Friday at 12. Make sure you hang around after the tour to watch this and grab a few recipes to try with the fresh produce surrounding you.

Dandenong Market is a fusion of flavours, cultures and cuisines and this tour is an amazing introduction to all the bargains, tastes and hidden secrets it has to offer. It’s every pasty white Aussie girl’s dream.

Plus, you get a free doughnut.

Go on, treat yo’self.

Check it out on the Dandenong Market website and call Market Management to book your spot on the next tour.

http://dandenongmarket.com.au/about/food-tours

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Dandenong Market

http://dandenongmarket.com.au

Corner Clow and Cleeland Streets, Clow St, Dandenong VIC 3175
Phone:(03) 9701 3850

Thursday Closed
Friday 7am–5pm
Saturday 7am–4pm
Sunday 10am–3pm
Monday Closed
Tuesday 7am–4pm
Wednesday Closed

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Amy’s love of food is only matched by her love of fitness and her fear of choosing the wrong dish on the menu. She loves to explore new places and old stalwarts, constantly torn between ticking a cafe off her “to try” list and revisiting the favourites. She owns way too many cookbooks but the pleasure she gets from experimenting with new flavours and serving them to her family and friends far outweighs any debt incurred.

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Eat My Street is a website dedicated to “good food and the good life.” We are a group of passionate and enthusiastic foodies from Melbourne who care about living the good life. We post recipes, reviews of cafes, cooking schools & markets, interviews, a Wednesday wellness essay and more. We really appreciate you stopping by. Please sign up or join us on Facebook to keep up to date.

Yarra Valley Regional Food Group Farmers Market

This is part two of my visit to the Yarra Valley as a guest of the Yarra Valley Regional Food Group. It involves Shannon Bennet in a red helicopter, life-changing wine, expansive vistas and doughnuts.

I love visiting gorgeous farmers markets in and around Melbourne. I recently posted a list of my favourite markets in my local area. Now I have a new one to add. The original Granddaddy of all markets (and still as fresh as ever) the Yarra Valley Regional Food Group Farmers Market.

 

Held in the grounds of beautiful Yering Station, and partially housed in a large barn to make it all-weather friendly, this market has a great selection of local products and produce. It is also extremely picturesque and you will love wandering around the property and just taking in those gorgeous views.

Artisanal Producers of Berwick and beyond

Artisanal Producers of Berwick and beyond

At the recent Bendigo Writers Festival I attended a session run by owl-like, creative genius, Marcus Westbury. Marcus is the founder and director of a number of creative festivals. He is also a writer and he has just launched his first book “Creating Cities” which was a crowd founded job.

The Best Markets in Berwick & surrounds

Markets in Berwick and Surrounds

One of the best things about living in Berwick is the accessibility of fabulous markets. Nearly every weekend I can easily pop up to a lovely, local, produce driven market to seek great inspiration for recipes and buy seasonal, super fresh food.

Plus,  donuts  and artisan pastries.

 

I have compiled a list of the local markets that I love. Please feel free to let me know if I have missed something good.

Here they are in no special order.

Cockatoo Country Market. First Saturday of the month. Look here for details.

Emerald Craft and Produce Market. 3rd Sunday of the month. Details are here.

Grow it, Make it Bake it Market, Emerald. Here. First Sunday of every month at the Emerald Mechanics Hall. 10am to 3pm

Casey-Berwick Farmers Market. Old Cheese Factory. 4th Saturday of the month. 34 Homestead Road, Berwick.

Akoonah Park Market. Every Sunday except the Berwick Show weekend in February. More information here. 8am to 1.30pm. Akoonah Park, Berwick.

Farmers Market at The Old Cheese Factory. Every second Saturday of the month. VFMA accredited market and follows the strict criteria of supporting accredited stallholders. 8am to 12.30.  34 Homestead Rd, Berwick.

Dandenong Market. Tuesday: 7am – 4pm , Friday: 7am – 5pm , Saturday: 7am – 4pm , Sunday: 10am – 3pm. Corner of Clow and Cleeland St, Dandenong. Special events include Market Week, 5th to 13th September. Market week sounds likes heaps of fun with cooking demonstrations, food tastings, a donut eating competition and a smoothie make-off. I will post more details closer to the date. Sign up for my newsletter to stay up to date. Or visit me on social media.

Belgrave Big Dreams Market. More details can be found at their website, or for a review of my visit look here. Running from 9am-2pm on the 2nd Sunday of the month.

 

 

Belgrave South Community Market. First Sunday of the month. Gilmore Court, Belgrave South. You can find out a little bit more about this Indie Market by visiting this Facebook page.

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Aren’t we spoilt?

Please let me know if there is something I have missed.

The sun has finally reappeared this week, so what a perfect time to get out and about and visit one of these gorgeous, local Melbourne markets.

 

Have fun.

 

 

 

Cockatoo Country Market

eatmystreet.net

This article is written by Eat My Street, but first appeared in the newspaper The Local.

The very first Cockatoo Country Market was held on Saturday 7th of March. Launched by locals, Tanya Burmeister and Owen Doppler, the artisan market is proudly “local” with all goods being grown, produced or made by the stall holders.

eatmystreet.net

Owen and Tanya launched the market in a bid to drive more tourist traffic through their beloved  town of Cockatoo and to build an increased sense of community identity. The market is run by a committee of volunteers and they hope to eventually be able to return profits made back to local community groups.

I wound my way through the scenic hills early on the Saturday morning to find myself there for the “official opening” of the market by Mayor Leticia Wilmott and Councillor Brett Owen. The local fire brigade were also there provide a happy backdrop to the official cutting of the ribbon.

This is a market that is embedded firmly in its locale and the presence of the fire brigade only served to cement that feeling. Stall holders and dignitaries all gathered together at 8.45 to officially launch the market and there was a fantastic energy in the crowd.

Stall holders included Cockatoo Creek Farm Produce, Embellished Cakes, Leanne’s Custom Pots, Olivetto Estate, Emmabrooke Images, Grantelle Creative Scrap Metal Sculptures, Dog gone Healthy Dog treats and many more.

As I made my way around the market I got chatting to the lovely Marina from Blackwood and Leverett. Marina has recently found herself finishing up work and has decided to pursue her hobby of making beautifully coloured jewellery and ceramics. Marina lives in Cockatoo and so the launch of Cockatoo Country Market came at exactly the right time to assist her pursue her hobby. Stop by her stall for a visit at the next market and I am sure you will have trouble leaving without buying a little something for your home.

 

Blackwood & Leverett

Overall this was a fantastic market with a good mix of stalls. It is ably assisted by the stunning backdrop of Cockatoo Creek, the surrounding pristine mountain range and even the ever popular Puffing Billy on occasion.

The gorgeous Moss View. The sterling silver jewellery is made with real bird feathers.

When Tanya and Owen first came up with the idea of the Market 9 months ago, they hope that it would help bring their local community together to network and socialise and show off what their naturally beautiful town had to offer.  With more than 900 people coming through the gates on market day, I think they can confidently say they have achieved that.

The market is held at; 74-75 Pakenham Rd, Cockatoo.

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UPDATE

The line up just seems to get better every month so I recommend you pay them a visit.

The next market will be tomorrow,  Saturday 1st August. Wear your winter woollies and enjoy the beautiful surrounds.

This weeks line up looks great and includes.

Honey!
-Organic, beef, pork & lamb and natural yoghurt, cuts, sausages, roasts
-Organic free range eggs and produce, fresh fruit & veg
-Olive Oil & Olives, salad dressings, dukkah
-Homemade pies and quiche
-Fresh breads, savoury bread and yummy pastry treats from our local baker
-Home grown herbs, natives, bulbs, (Its daffodil season!), ferns and potted colour
-Delicious baked goods, frosted cupcakes and frosted decorative biscuits, protein and gluten free and vegan baked goods, home baked muffins, cake pops
-Goats milk soaps and body products
-Fresh flavoured popcorn made on site (with tastings!)
– Recycled wall art made locally
– Soy Candles & melts
-Personally designed badges & key rings, fridge magnets
– Hand made children’s goods, pocket pillows, textile based items for children & babies
– Face painter
– Leadlight jewellery and handmade bowls, plates and hand poured pewter aussie animals
– Homemade, wholesome doggy treats and products
– Hot Coffee, hot chocolate.
– Preserves, jams, pickles and other mouth watering bottles yummys
– glasses
– Devonshire Teas, shortbreads, delectable sweet treats
– Handcrafted personalised cards in every design you can imagine
– Local Community Groups, Cockatoo Primary school selling those yummy lamingtons, Cockatoo Childcare selling hot soup, SES on the BBQ with bacon and egg rolls and sausages in bread, The Hills Men’s Shed, Scouts with children’s activities, Anglicare, Gembrook Craft Group, The Cockatoo Community Gardens Swap.
Don’t forget on the same day for your enjoyment is other free activities in town such as the National Tree Planting Day.

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Enjoy!

Embellished Cakes @ Cockatoo Country Market

 

Cannibal Creek Bakehouse were onsite for the first every Cockatoo Country Market.

eatmystreet.net

 

 

The Friday Phone In| Things to do in Berwick & beyond.

So we have manned the phones, checked the town noticeboard and scanned the Parish Newsletter. The votes are in for our Friday Favourites and top tips for the weekend.

Are you wondering what is on in Berwick and beyond this weekend? Despite the fact that the cold weather has really set in here in Melbourne, there are still heaps of great things to do this weekend in Berwick & beyond.

1. The ever sweet Cockatoo Country Market is on this weekend. Full of locally grown, made or produced items you can also be served Devonshire tea, hot coffee or a freshly made bacon and egg roll. Plus this Saturday Nat Pike and Megan Nelson will be busking. I love a bit of live busking. Be there. 🙂 Check out this article written for the Local paper by none other than Madame eatmystreet herself, for more details.

2. The Grow it, Make it, Bake it Market in Emerald turns 1. They are celebrating and you are invited! There will be balloons, cake and Babaji’s Kitchen will be serving food. Plus craft for the kids, Embellished Cakes and more. Why not stop by, wish them a happy birthday and join in the fun.

3. Burrinja Circus Festival is on all weekend. It includes “Burrinja Circus Presents Lost” on Saturday night. Click here to find out more.

4. Mount Baw Baw has snow! Melbourne’s closest downhill ski resort has snow. It also has 35 hectares of downhill terrain, 10km of cross country ski trails and 7 lifts. Pack your 16 layers of snow gear and go enjoy.

5. Looking for something good to do with the family this weekend? Then why not try a visit to Puffing Billy. Plus, this Saturday night they have a Dinner & Dance Train running. $112 pp for a 3 course meal. Aces! 6. I say this is perfect weather for watching a movie. I’m thinking Cinderella at home in front of the fire, or Minions at Cameo Cinema. Or maybe both! Suggestions for any non kids films are very welcome.

As always, if there is anything I have missed, pop it in the comments either here or on Facebook.

Dani B xx

Pave Funfest Emerald 2015

My first time attending the Pave Funfest today. Good things worth mentioning. I met a robot, he could talk. He was pretty funny. I heard the Melbourne Accordion Orchestra “The Big Squeeze”  in action.

Artisan Crust were there and this time they had made macaron’s and baclava. They just keep getting better. 

I got to see with my own eyes the old is new wine bar “The Hive.” Set up in the old Emerald Bakery and with many of its historic features still intact the venue was amazing, evocative and moody- and it talked! Only figuratively sorry, different to the robot. Emerald was busy and bustling and there were so many options for food and fun.  My own random tinkler at one of the pianos set up around the town. There are still many activities planned for the coming week. Visit http://www.pave.org.au for more information. Maybe I’ll see you there! Dani xx