As promised, here are the details of the good people who brought your all of that scrumptious fare we consumed last Wednesday eve at the Readers' Feast, along with some helpful descriptions of what some items were and what distance they have come from.
Tap on each supplier’s name to be taken through to their websites.
Recipes from Matt Wilkinson are still to come, but you’ll be able to find almost all of the produce we featured at farmers’ markets in and around Melbourne. For information on farmers' market locations and dates, please visit their website.
Larder Fresh
Larder Fresh is a family-run business that makes preservative and additive-free nougat, as well as falafels and vegie burgers. Products are gluten and dairy free and only include ingredients from local farmers and suppliers.
Based in Melbourne.
Roasted Almond Nougat
Handmade, Italian style, soft nougat. No stabilizers, preservatives or shortenings. Enjoy with coffee, a cheese plate or ice cream. Gluten and dairy free.
Roasted Almond Italian Espresso Nougat
Handmade, Italian style, soft nougat infused with espresso coffee. No stabilisers, preservatives or shortenings. Gluten and dairy free.
Hope Farm
Hope Farm are Victoria’s First NASAA Organically Certified Sourdough Bakery. Uses the finest organic and biodynamic stone-ground flours.
Located in Yarragon, 117km from Melbourne CBD.
Cocoa Rhapsody
Cocoa Rhapsody make hand-crafted chocolate in Australia from organic and fair trade cocoa. The 72-hour conching process (grinding of the beans) makes for a silky smooth texture.
Located in Melbourne.
Mint condition
The perfect combination of Essential Mint Oil and Serious Dark Chocolate. Vegan friendly.
Nut Cove
Caramel Roasted Almonds with Satin Milk Chocolate. Crunchy and creamy goodness.
Mount Zero Olives
Mount Zero Olives are a self-sustaining, demeter certified and biodynamic farm. No chemical inputs are used and their energy comes from off-grid wind and solar generators. Located near Grampians National Park 280km from Melbourne CBD.
Mount Zero Mixed Olives
Manzanilla, Kalamata, Gordal, Blonde Kalamata and Wild Olives. Sizes, colours and flavours to suit every palate.
Organic Orange and Beetroot Relish
The perfect complement to cold meats, cheese and sandwiches.
Mount Zero Egyptian Dukkah
A Middle Eastern flavour combo made from pistachios and almonds from the Murray, hazelnuts, sesame seeds, coriander, cumin, pepper and Mount Zero Pink Salt. Enjoy with olive oil, bread, salads, vegetables, or season meats and fish.
Holy Goat Cheese
Holy Goat small farm with a focus on holistic farming, sustainability and animal welfare. Offers a range of hand-made cheeses from 100% organic goat milk.
Located in Sutton Grange 122 km from Melbourne CBD.
Pandora Goat’s Cheese
A very ripe white mould cheese. No to be eaten like normal cheese, instead, cut the top off and spoon out the rich soft velvety interior.
Fromage Frais
A sweet, moist, soft and creamy goats' milk curd with a fresh citrus finish. Low in saturated fats. Ideal for cooking or enjoyed with bread and rich berry jam.
Veloute Goat’s Cheese
Underneath the white mould surface hides a mature, creamy, sweet, nutty and delicate cheese. Best eaten between three and 10 weeks.
Black Silk Goat’s Cheese
Ash coated fresh curd cheese with a fine melting texture and a creamy lactic sweetness balanced with a tangy acid finish. Low in saturated fats.
Yarra Valley Salmon
Yarra Valley Salmon are one of the few fresh water aquaculture farms in the world that takes a completely natural approach to rearing and milking its Atlantic salmon, refusing to use any antibiotics or chemicals in the feed.
Located in Thornton, 130km from Melbourne CBD.
All the products for this event were kindly donated.
Yarra Valley Caviar
Australia’s only Atlantic Salmon caviar that has been hand-milked using a natural anaesthetic. Cruelty, additive and antibiotic free. 100% fish roe. (Commercial hatcheries use compressed air and needles to force the eggs out, whether they are ready or not. They also use preservatives and additives in their roe.)
Yarra Valley Salmon
Salmon farmed in the pristine waters of the Rubicon River. The fish have plenty of room to swim and strong natural currents keep them fit and healthy, which makes for a leaner texture, a lower fat content, and a higher proportion of spawn. (The majority of salmon production in Australia happens off the coast of Tasmania where salmon is farmed in sea- cages. The fish are so densely populated that antibiotics and chemicals must be used to prevent disease outbreaks. This farming method causes a lot of stress and suffering, and disrupts and alters the surrounding ecosystem.)
Sea-cage salmon is currently on the Australian Marine Conservation Society’s ‘say no’ list, so Yarra Valley salmon provides an ethical alternative when you next want to indulge.
Verde Providores
Verde Providores make dips made from locally sourced, seasonal ingredients. Many of the ingredients come straight from the farm or are freshly picked from the garden the day of use.
Located in the Central Highland region of Daylesford, 115km from Melbourne CBD.
Carrot and Mint Dip
A vegan friendly wholesome and versatile dip with organic carrots from wombat Organics and mint from the maker’s own garden. Smear on toast or toss in a wok with Asian vegies or chicken. Works with anything really. Gluten free!
Beetroot and Chickpea Dip
A vegan friendly beetroot dip made with beetroots from Wombat Forest Organics in Lyonville. Gluten free and fully loaded with vitamins A, B and C. It has a higher iron content than spinach – you’ll want to eat it with everything!
Wild Fennel, White Bean and Fetta Dip
A protein dense dip with fennel, foraged by the maker along the side of country roads, white beans and creamy fetta cheese. Gluten free and full of protein and vitamin C.
Hummus
An ancient dip with a creamy and smooth texture, high in iron and vitamin C. When eaten with bread, it serves as a “complete protein”, containing all nine essential amino acids that humans need. Vegan friendly and gluten free of course.
Roasted Parsnip and Fetta Dip
With organic parsnips from Wombat Forest Organics, parsley fresh from the maker’s garden, and fetta cheese this versatile dip is high in vitamin C and potassium. Gluten free.
Organic Empire
Organic Empire are a food delivery service that supplies food that has been grown naturally without the use of herbicides, pesticides, chemicals, waxes or hormones. Food the way nature intended it.
They supplied many of the organic fruit and vegetables on the harvest table that evening.
Locally sourced and packed at the Organic Empire farm in the Yarra Valley, 40km from Melbourne CBD.
All the produce for the event was kindly donated.
Rooftop Honey
Rooftop Honey are beekeepers that bring the bees back to Melbourne city and suburbs with the aim of saving the honey bee from threats of disease and human habitation, at the same time as they reconnect us with our food.
Currently maintaining and caring for 35 beehives around the city. Without the bee, our food system would be in big trouble, as 65% of our agricultural production depends on pollination by bees. One in three mouthfuls of food we eat is produced with the help of bees.
Located? On a rooftop near you!
Milawa Free-Range Poultry
Milawa are a poultry farm that hand raises chickens and lets them roam freely outside. Unlike ‘industrial chicken’, free range chickens are not grown in overcrowded sheds and are not fed hormones or chemicals.
Located in Wangaratta, 250km from Melbourne CBD.
Lochelian
Locheilan farm uses fresh milk from their own cows to produce a variety of cheeses. It is ripened and sold in its natural rind, leaving it full of flavour.
Located near Numurkah, 222km from Melbourne CBD.
Tarrilli
An Italian style uncooked cheese. When young, the thick, yellowish crust covers a pale yellow paste with small holes and a robust, appetising flavour. When aged, the rind is rough and the yellow interior is dense with a sharp taste. Gold medal winner.
Bruce’s Blue
Made in the Stilton style, this cheese exhibits the classic flavours of an English blue. Firm and mild when young, it matures to a smooth, full-bodied complex of flavours.
Kaarimba Soft
Soft, creamy and luscious French style brie. As the cheese matures the flavours develop from mild and smooth to mature and complex.
Schulz
Striving to be completely self-sufficient, Schulz produces milk products from Friesian and Jersey Cows directly on the farm. No chemicals, hormones, herbicides or pesticides are used. Instead, soil fertility is sustained through crop rotation and farm composts.
Located in Timboon, 220km from Melbourne CBD
Shultz Yogurt
A tub set yogurt with healthy pro-biotic cultures that comes with a thick layer of cream atop and with a mild kick.
Warialda
With a nose to tail philosophy the Snaith family at Warialda produces beef from animals that are 100% grass fed and free range.
Located near the Daylesford and Macedon Ranges, 80km from Melbourne CBD.
Coyo
Coyo make a naturally dairy free, vegan friendly delicious yoghurt made from coconut milk. Delicious on fruit, a wonderful addition to curries and fish dishes, and a great base for mayonnaise.
Made on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, 1,800km from Melbourne CBD.
Tonight’s beetroot salad was lovingly made by Karen and her mother. It contains beetroot (of course), carrot, coriander, green apple and red onion – all from Organic Empire. Vegan friendly.
Sourced from the Yarra Valley, 40km from Melbourne CBD.
Milawa Mustards
Mustard and other condiments from the Milawa farm. All products are made by the owners themselves according to their own recipes and with ingredients grown on the farm.
Located near Milawa, 250km from Melbourne CBD.
Mustard Pickles
Assorted vegies infused with mustard and spices. Enjoy as a spread, condiment or dip.
Mild Honey Mustard
A mild mustard infused with honey. Gives rabbit, pork, and lamb a lift, and perfectly complements strong cheddar cheese.
Balsamic Mustard
An excellent accompaniment to beef and game. Perfect for salad dressings or with roasted vegetables, such as eggplant, capsicum, zucchini and pumpkin.
Boosey Creek Cheese
Boosey Creek Cheese is owned and operated by three generations of the Cameron family. This cheese farm is GM free and uses non- animal rennet. Drop in to try some cheese, see the calves, and watch the cows get milked.
Located in Boosey, 250km from Melbourne CBD.
Yarrawonga White
This firm and crumbly yet creamy feta received a Bronze Medal at the Royal Melbourne Fine Food Awards 2011. Try the Chilli and Garlic infused for a bit of a kick, or the Rosemary Pepper and Chives for more subtle flavours. Drizzle the oil on a salad or a piece of toast for a delicious healthy treat.
Colonial Brewing Company
Colonial Brewing Company is a micro-brewery in Margaret River with a vision of “making the world a better place, one beer at a time”. Breweries use up to 10 litres of water to make one litre of beer, but at Colonial they have reduced that to 4 litres through the treatment and re-use of water for irrigation.
Instead of going to landfill, their spent grains (mainly barley malt), are donated to a local farmer who uses them for feed for his livestock. Colonial Brewing company produces a range of craft ales including; Kolsh, Witbier, India Pale Ale, Pale Ale and a Porter.
Colonial beer is not bottled but instead has takeaway and reusable ‘Growlers’ for sale.
Growlers can be bought and refilled at the following Melbourne venues: Botanical – 169 Domain Rd, South Yarra Lamaro’s – 273-279 Cecil St, South Melb Lucky Coq – Corner of Chapel & High St, Windsor Robert Burns Hotel – 376 Smith St, Collingwood Half Moon Hotel – 120 Church St, Brighton Bimbo Deluxe – 376 Brunswick St, Fitzroy
Plunkett Fowles
Established in 1968, Plunkett Fowles produces some of Australia’s finest cool climate wines. Awarded many of Australia’s most prestigious wine medals and trophies this wine comes in two series. Regional Series wines are made in the vineyard where the best fruit is nurtured and only gently touched by winemaker hands. The Food Series wines receive more attention and are moulded for food. At Plunkett Fowles, they use mechanical weed cultivators to eliminate the use of herbicides, they control weed growth during winter by allowing sheep to graze the vine inter-rows, they use natural fertilisers and aim to control pests naturally through Integrated Pest Management.
Located in the Strathbogie Ranges, 130km from Melbourne CBD.
Ladies who Shoot their Lunch
The word’s first wine series blended to match with wild game. The naturally lean and dense meat of game with its powerful aromas are complemented yet not overwhelmed by this range of wine. With elevated aromas and fine structure these wines perfectly accompany wild game meat. (The 2008 Shiraz won the Trophy for Australia’s Best Shiraz in the 2010 VISY Great Australian Shiraz Challenge.)