“We are Paul and Sally Bethune, fifth-generation dairy farmers from Lake Boga in North-western Victoria. Our family has been milking cows for 130 years- that’s almost as long as the cows have been coming home! We are the third generation to run this farm in Lake Boga and after 30 years of milking cows and now raising a family of five young boys, we’ve decided it is time for a new adventure and we are so excited to introduce Bethune Lane Dairy, our very own dairy produce company.”
1816 is a Ballarat Bakery established in 2019, by Head Baker Josh Chapman, with owners of the Forge Pizzeria, Tim and Chris Matthews. Josh would travel to Trentham to get good quality sourdough bread. He realised there was a gap in Ballarat for a bricks-and-mortar sourdough bakery. In 2019, the first loaves came out of the oven.
Aromatic and so strongly flavoured these super juicy and intensely flavoured strawberries are the best we have seen. Yes, they cost twice as much as supermarket strawberries, but they taste 16 times as good. They are grown on a little farm at Eganstown, 5km west of our store by Peter and Clare at Morningswood Farm. They are super passionate about regenerating the soil on their small acreage and have dug in hundreds of tonnes of organic matter to enrich the earth and encourage soil biodiversity. Which leads to these most amazing strawberries!
Paul Righetti’s left-hand man is a dog. A dog called Oscar. He is a Maremma guard dog that looks after the ISA brown hens that graze on pasture on his farm outside Guildford. The birds lay eggs sold under the Honest Egg Co. label. “We don’t like to talk about free-range, because that can mean 1500 birds sitting outside a shed without a blade of grass!” explains Paul. “Instead, we see ourselves as regenerative farmers.” The flocks of birds are free to roam on fresh pasture, scratching about for seeds, insects, and small stones to help digest the grain in which they are also fed.
There is cider and then there is cider. Real cider. Cider made in the time honoured tradition using apple varieties bred for the flavour and texture, not just for sweet juice. Cider fermented slowly in a method that develops flavour.
The milk from Inglenook tastes different. It is made from a single herd of Friesian cows grazing on grass out near Dunnstown, in the volcanic hills east of Ballarat. “We don’t process it like the big multinational companies,” says Rachael Peterkin. She and her husband Troy co-founded the small family-owned milk processing facility 10 years ago.
Chris Edwards bakes some of the best pastries is the state. Trained in the traditional European methods of making croissants and Danishes in the great hotels like the Ritz in London. From his ovens in Castlemaine come light, flaky, and delicious pastries to our shelves every day.
Jason Crosbie has always been fascinated by fungus. He grew up foraging for mushrooms in the paddocks out back of Ballarat and bushwalking in the forest around Buninyong looking for wild fungus.
Autumn is here, and the lettuces have flowered. So have dandelions and plantains. The vegetable beds at Captains Creek Organics appear chaotic. But they are full of life. Bees, beetles, lizards. Grower Josh Williams encourages this chaos. “It is all about letting the natural processes go about their course,” he says.
On a bend in the road, in the historic village of Glenlyon, is a little block of land that is one of the most productive in the region. Adsum Farmhouse is a 3 acre block on which stands Edward and Fiona Benedict’s 1880s family home, a greenhouse, a pickling kitchen, storage shed and row and rows of rich deep soil.
It has been a remarkable season for tomatoes, and our organic tomato grower Florian Hofinger has been working since early spring to make sure the summer crop will be at its best. The former chef turned organic farmer has a beautiful property sitting on a saddle under the summit of Mount Franklin.
Perhaps some of the best betting plum puddings around are made by local business, Pud For All Seasons. They are a stalwart business from Castlemaine and are known for their award-winning quality puddings – so much so, that they make their beautiful puddings all year round. We have again teamed up with them this Christmas and offer a good range of their puddings in different sizes alongside their incredibly indulgent sauces. Their puddings are all handmade and their range includes traditional Christmas puddings as well as more contemporary recipes for those who don’t like “squishy fruit”.
When you make your puddings with a healthy dash of real French Champagne you want to let everyone know. And that is why Puddings on the Ritz from Melbourne call their superbly packaged plum puddings Champagne Puddings. Dense, lightly spiced, fruity and made with top quality dried vine fruit and real plums this is a superb pudding that ideal for a gift, hamper or to steam up on the big day to serve 4 generously.
We are dog people at Blakes. We love our pets. We love spending time with them and looking after them. When it comes to spoiling them, it usually is with a bone. But we reckon that once a year, you can splurge on specially-made dog treats. Made from dog-friendly chocolate-free ingredients, our range of dog Christmas gifts from Pooch Treats are perfect for spoiling your dog and getting them into the party spirit when everyone comes together to celebrate the festive season. Available in ‘ice cream cone’ and ‘lolly pop’ shapes.
Up in the Highlands of Scotland, in Cairn O’Mount in Royal Deeside, Duncan’s of Deeside baked their first shortbread three generations ago. The family continue that tradition of baking beautifully short biscuits that crumble when broken but are as smooth as silk when eaten. In many households, shortbreads are a Christmas tradition and these raspberry and white chocolate Scottish shortbread are as good with a good cup of tea as they are with a neat dram of whisky.
In Sienna, Italy, they celebrate Christmas by sharing a rich flat cake of nuts and fruit. Importer Simon Johnson has sourced a beautiful little 100g panforte to celebrate the season made with with almonds, hazelnuts, candied fruits, wafer, sweetened with natural honey and slathered in dark chocolate. Perfect as a gift, for a hamper or to share with visitors during the festive season this Sienese panforte is perfectwith coffee or a glass of Victorian fortified wine such as a muscat or tokay.
Do you like it hot? Do you like it smooth? Do you like it French or good old English style? You can’t have a Christmas table without good mustard. And we have loads.
Be like the Italians and start Christmas morning with a little glass of Moscato or Prosecco and a slice of real Italian panettone. Made with real preserved vine fruit, fresh candied orange and citrus rind and then hand wrapped in Italy, our Fiasconaro Panettone Tradizionale is just one of the several authentic panettone we bring in every year for Christmas.
They grow great garlic out Springmount way, between Daylesford and Creswick, and the team at Springmount Fine Foods know how to turn it into delicious black garlic. It is a slow process of heat and humidity that transforms garlic into a dark, sweet and delicious product perfect to add to dishes for complexity and flavour.
With great packaging and design, their products have a bright young feel and their range of ready to drink products are the real deal. We love their vodka, made with the same spring water, flavoured with pine and lime. Other flavours in the range include Banoffee, Watermelon and Zesty Lemon. Perfect for parties, picnics or post pickup chat with friends.
If you love classic Italian pasta dishes you will love Bottarga Australia’s dried, grated bottarga. It is great sprinkled over pasta to give a deep, delicious slightly seafood flavour. A little goes a long, long way and releases its aroma and flavour when warmed. It is not an ingredient to cook with as it destroys its delicate nature.
