We love cheese!
Melbourne’s top cheesemonger and more in Time Out's homage to fromage
Melbourne’s best cheese shops
Blessed are the cheesemakers, for they furnish us with tasty and exotic morsels to take home or sample in-store. By Thomas
Beecher & Kelly Eng
Bill’s Farm
A two-decade fixture of Victoria Market, Bill’s Farm is located on the fruit and vegetable side of the deli hall. A former secondary school mathematics teacher, Bill is the bee’s knees of cheese expertise, being a qualified cheese grader and dairy judge. His shop has European and Australian cheeses plus plenty of smallgoods. Grab some Holy Goat; perhaps the wrinkly, citrussy La Luna, or the cuteas-a-button, bite-sized, velvety Piccolo. Bill recommends the Alexandrina aged cheddar that’s made from single source Jersey milk, and the ash-covered Woodside Edith, a Frenchstyle goat’s milk cheese. Òshop 17-20, Queen Victoria Market, North Melbourne 3051. 03 9328 2003. www.billsfarm.com.au. Tue, Thu 6am-2pm; Fri 6am-4.45pm; Sat 6am-2.45pm; Sun 8.30am-3.30pm.
The Cheese Shop Deli
In 2004, Angelo and Diane Polidoras quit their jobs and followed their hearts into the cheese business. Today, around 80 per cent of customers at this popular Prahran Market deli are regulars, and Angelo is on a first-name basis with many of them. With one of the biggest selections of cheese in Melbourne, their range is mostly imported. Among the trove is the fast-selling Il Forteto, an earthy Tuscan pecorino stuffed with shaved truffle. On the domestic side, “import replacement cheeses” like the Victorian-produced washed rind L’artisan Mountain Man are, according to Angelo, choice picks. Òprahran Market, Stall 703, 163 Commercial Rd, South Yarra 3141. www.prahranmarket. com.au/trader/the-cheese-shop-deli. Tue, Thu-sat 7am-5pm; Sun 10am-3pm.
DOC Delicatessen
Tony Nicolini’s deli is a trove of imported and locally produced Italian smallgoods – cured meats, sausages, pasta, aged balsamic vinegar and biscotti. But let’s not forget the cheese. Although pecorino, a hard cheese made from ewes’ milk, is the speciality here, it’s the hunky chunks of freshly cut Parmigiano-reggiano that walk out the door. Don’t be shy: it’s well worth asking the obliging staff to shepherd you through the many options. Two interesting choices are Trufetto, a smooth sheep’s milk cheese funked up with truffles ($9.99 per 100 grams); and the more assertive Occelli Castagno, a goat-and-cow’s milk number that’s encrusted with bashed chestnuts and wrapped in chestnut leaves ($12.49 per 100 grams). Either would glam up the most pedestrian cracker. Ò330 Lygon St. Carlton 3053. 03 9347 8482. docgroup.net. Mon-sat 9am-7pm; Sun 10am-7pm.
Emerald Hill Deli
This popular South Melbourne Market deli has been lovingly watched over for 33 years by owner and head cheese expert Maria Totos. The impressive walk-in cellar has rustic wooden shelves stacked high with some 200 cheese varieties. Totos is particularly proud of her flavoured collection: the Wisconsin-based Sartori Bellavitano, for instance, soak or rub their rinds with ingredients like coffee or merlot. But Maria’s greatest dairy achievement is one of her own creation: a sweet, pungent chocolate blue that she prepares from her own secret dry-rub cocoa recipe. The deli also sells a slew of store-made products and antipasto. Expect queues. Òsouth Melbourne Market, 322 Coventry St, South Melbourne 3205. 03 9690 5783. southmelbournemarket.com.au/traders/emerald-hill-deli. Wed 8am-4pm; Fri 8am-5pm; Sat, Sun 8am-4pm.
Harper & Blohm Cheese Shop
This small Essendon cheese shop inside the Prince Wine Store is well worth the Myki topup. Owner Olivia Sutton offers a concise range with a strong emphasis on local producers. In fact, Sutton is so passionate about local produce that she often spends her weekends at farmers’ markets serving up raclette and toasted sandwiches, all made with Victorian cheese. Store favourites include the Yarra Valley Stone & Crow Night Walker, a cow’s milk washed rind. The western Victorian Shaw River buffalo mozzarella is also noteworthy, from the first dairy in Australia to bring in milking buffalo. Ò80 Primrose St, Essendon 3040. 03 9370 6428. harperandblohm.com. Wed, Thu 12.306pm; Fri, Sat 10am-6pm.
La Latteria
The dairy devout can worship at La Latteria, a temple to cheese, with an added ‘mozzarella laboratory’. Ex-chef Kirsty and cheesemonger Giorgio have been stirring vats of curd and stretching mozzarella every day for six years in their no-frills Carlton shop. Try one of the snowy-white orbs bobbing in brine – perhaps a buffalo mozzarella or bocconcini – which they’ll package up in a plastic bag like a goldfish you won at the fair. The voluptuous fior di latte is creamy and delicate; team it with basil and good tomatoes and you’ll be transported to Capri. Gift your friends with their very own mozzarella-making kit or a hamper. Unhomogenised milk (yes, with the cream top) and natural yoghurts make La Latteria all the more compelling. Ò104 Elgin St, Carlton 3053. 03 9347 9009. lalatteria.com.au. Mon-fri 9am-7pm; Sat 9am-3pm. u
La Parisienne Pâtés
The vast majority of their 40-strong cheese collection is French, selected to pair with the their equally impressive charcuterie and antipasto. The Gruyère and saucisson sec make for a full-flavoured, savoury pairing, while the popular D’affinois Brie is perfect for slathering onto a baguette. While most of their cheeses are imported, almost everything else is produced in their own factory, about 100 metres down the road. Ò253 Lygon St, Carlton 3053. 03 9349 1852. Mon-thu 9am-6.30pm; Fri 9am-7pm; Sat 8.30am-6pm; Sun 9.30am-6pm.
Milk the Cow, Carlton
Need a nocturnal nibble? Head to this fromagerie and wine bar where, until 1am, you can unleash your inner mouse. The five-metre-long cheese cabinet showcases over 150 artisan cheeses. Cosy up on the banquette seating and try a ‘cheese & booze flight’ where sparkling wine, sake and cider are matched to the creamy stuff. Warm up on a cold night with fondue pots, baked cheeses and even a luxe truffle oil macaroni cheese. If you’ve reached peak sloth, get a cheese box delivered. Ò323 Lygon St, Carlton 3053. 03 9348 4771. milkthecow.com.au. Mon-thu, Sun noon-midnight; Fri, Sat noon-1am.
Richmond Hill Café & Larder
Once inside the stylish, temperature-controlled cheese cellar here – originally a maceration room – it’s hard to think about anything other than cheese. While Comté is a staff favourite the larder’s curated foreign and domestic range works for many tastes. Their creamy sheep’s milk Ossau-iraty is a knockout. The lunchtime chicken schnitzel is served with a nice sprinkle of grated truffle Pecorino; the more cheese-centric breakfast Croque Madame makes good use of the larder’s Gruyère and Parmesan. Ò48- 50 Bridge Rd, Richmond 3121. 03 9421 2808. rhcl.com.au. The Cheese Room & Larder: Mon-thu 9am-4.30pm; Fri-sun 8.30am-5pm. Café: daily 8am-5pm.
Shifty Chèvre
At Time Out, we’ve got a member of staff living the dream by dating one of the owners of this cheese bar (he won her heart the old-fashioned way, with dairy products). The chèvre selection takes centre stage here. The Délice des DeuxSèvres is very creamy for a goat’s milk cheese, and perfect for melting on toast. On the meals side, the lunchtime Swiss cheese Reuben is served with an Australian Blue cheese salad; for dinner, the fondue is a symphony of cheesy dipping bliss, with Emmental, Abondance and Maasdam. Ò375 Brunswick St, Fitzroy 3065. 0423 694 763. www.shiftychevre.com. Wed, Thu 6pm-midnight; Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat 9am-midnight; Sun 9am-11pm.
Spring Street Grocer
A spiral staircase leads to a glorious cheese bunker where a squidgy goat’s milk cheese infused with the herbaceous flavour of thyme is the outcome of a collaboration with Gippsland cheesemaker Burke Brandon. Among the cheddar treasures, a Bay of Fires Tasmanian ($8.85 per 100g), with a subtle smokiness, makes for easy eating. Grab a baguette on the way out, and a scoop of gelato, too (they’ve got a fior di latte flavour). Ò157 Spring St, Melbourne 3000. 03 9639 0335. www.springstreetgrocer.com.au. Mon-sat 10am-7pm; Sun 11am-6pm.
Two Tall Chefs
This Carlton North cheese shop and café has proven a worthy successor to the building’s former tenant, the Milawa Cheese Factory. Despite demand for European cheese, chef Monte Hudson tries to keep at least half of his inventory Australian and isn’t afraid to explore new tastes. The Shepperton-produced Locheilan Triple – one of the few cheeses Hudson consistently orders – is quite possibly the creamiest food item in Australia. Ò665 Nicholson St, Carlton North 3054. 03 9381 1777. www.twotallchefs.com.au. Tue-thu, Sun 9am-6.30pm; Fri, Sat 9am-11pm.