The sun no longer warms my cheeks and my rain jacket is the most social thing in my house. So let’s get wintery, shall we? What better way to spend these almost icy nights than with a crackling fire and good quality wine, in the company of our wise friends – cheese. Let’s explore Melbourne’s cheese scene. First on my mind is Milk The Cow, St Kilda and Carlton’s dedicated cheese bar with more variety than you can poke a (mozzarella) stick at – just let them match your mood to your cheese. What I love about Milk The Cow is their respect for the cheese platter experience. Here it’s more than just consuming, but slowing down, appreciating flavour and delving into conversation with whomever you’re sharing it with. Their wine selection has purpose with each flavour note and however you may feel in that moment. Milk the Cow have two beautiful locations at 157 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda and 323 Lygon Street, Carlton.
Night markets, food trucks, the old Mercat (R.I.P).Queen Victoria Market has everything you need for a soulful indulge, but what honestly sits at the top for me is their cheese selection through the deli. You will often find me on Sundays wandering the aisles, shopping bags draping from my forearms, tasting the cheese offerings on each isle corner. “What do I feel like this week?” I ask myself constantly, as if I’ve never had this dilemma before. And whether that’s comte, provolone, peccorino or brie, I’m assured it’s of top quality from hard-working stall owners who never hesitate in describing to me a different cheese, weekly. The Queen Victoria Market is more than a cheese spot, but a meditative experience where you find yourself floating from stall to stall and cheese to cheese. Wander down to 513 Elizabeth St, Melbourne.
Walking into Spring Street Grocer is astonishingly impressive to say the least. Featuring a cocktail of a wine-shop, top restaurant, ice-cream store, cocktail bar concoction, – and just when your dreams reach their highest potential – take a wander down the mysterious spiral stairs and what you find I promise will melt your heart. A cheese cellar, minimal and cooled with a ‘fromager’ to greet, simply waiting to cut anything you wish to try. My top picks are their Olivet Au Poivre – a type of peppercorn brie – and their Comte Rivoire Jacquemin which has been aged for three years. However, they only have 20 kilos left so you best hurry to one of Melbourne’s most cherished basement experiences. Check them out at 157 Spring St, Melbourne.
Where does life lead after being a Michelin Star restaurant chef? To the charming Nicholson Street, Carlton, to open up an eating house and cheese shop of course. Owned by the skilled Monte Hudson, Two Tall Chefs offers all the meals – breakfast, lunch and dinner – but with a special ode to cheese. Although European cheese is undoubtedly popular and in no short variety, Hudson pays special attention to home-produced cheeses, keeping an even half of his cheese selection locally Aussie. While you are wandering the leafy streets of Carlton, wandering through the gardens or even pre-museum visit, make sure to pay Two Tall Chefs a visit 665 Nicholson St, Carlton North.
