What’s on your ideal charcuterie board? Meats and cheese make for an obvious anchor, but there’s so much variety within each category that you can endlessly customise to reach your personal state of grazing nirvana. And once you delve into honey, crackers, bread, olives, wine and other accompaniments, you’ve got a veritable cornucopia on your hands.
Living in Victoria, we’re lucky to have direct access to all of the above – even in the wake of covid. There’s also never been a better time to prepare a picnic with friends – it’s quite literally the season for it.
Many producers are still delivering their wares, with hampers and subscriptions as a bonus. In partnership with the Click for Vic campaign, which encourages Victorians to support the state’s robust producers by shopping online, here are five sources to tap when building your own perfect charcuterie board – whatever that entails. Then when restrictions ease, you’ll know where to hit up on your next regional trip.
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SIGN UPRed Hill Cheese, Red Hill
Two families took the reins of Red Hill Cheese in 2018, continuing the spirit of the well-established artisan cheese company. Highlights of its quite varied small-batch cheeses include St Andrews Spice, a cumin-flecked gouda; Mountain Goat blue, a brightly floral goat blue; and Merricks Mist, a creamy cow’s cheese. Red Hill also make its own spiced pear paste and spreadable goat’s cheese, and sells anything else you might need for a vibrant platter in its online store. So dip freely into craft beer, sparkling wine, crackers, flatbread, nuts, and other products from the abundant Mornington Peninsula.
Grampians Olive Co, Grampians
Family-owned and grown from an olive plantation dating back to 1943, Grampians Olive Co is best known for its organic extra virgin olive oil, widely used in commercial kitchens. Between the distinct oils emerging from early and late harvests, and oils infused with blood orange, truffles, garlic, chilli or Tuscan herbs, there’s plenty to explore. Hampers and gift sets show off a wider range of products – including dukkah and vinegars – and of course you can buy some actual olives. There’s no substitute for dipping fresh bread into top-quality olive oil.
Shorthive Honey, Great Ocean Road
Few natural products are as versatile as honey, but Shorthive has taken that a step further with its bold infusions. After trialling far-flung flavours within the family-owned business, a small but reliable range emerged: cacao, salted, espresso and chilli. Each has just two ingredients, so you can enjoy a caffeine or spice (or chocolate) kick to your honey without double-checking the label. You can find Shorthive stocked up and down the Great Ocean Road, including the Forrest General Store, Geelong's Piccadilly Market, as well as inland VIC. Shorthive extends the possibilities with a fun slate of recipes online, inviting you to make roasted carrots with the chilli honey, popcorn with the salted honey or almond protein bars with the espresso honey.
Harper and Blohm, Brunswick
Olivia Sutton opened this speciality cheese shop in 2014, naming it after her grandparents. Since then, she has showcased artisan cheeses from Australia and abroad, as well as serving standout toasties and other cheese-centric meals. It’s a beloved Sydney Road landmark. But the online shop more than holds its own, complete with bespoke cheese boxes and a monthly subscription service. Here you’ll also find cheeses from around the state, hailing from Prom Country, Berry’s Creek and Shaw River. The entire selection is as carefully curated as it is prodigious.
Queen Vic Market, Melbourne
Melbourne’s most famous market may be an indelible experience in person, but having its goods delivered to your door is just as enticing. Browse duck and quail eggs from The Eggporium, fresh shellfish from Prosser’s Seafood, or unique sausages from The Polish Deli. For meat alone, it doesn’t come much fresher or diverse. It’s also a reliable way to tick off the boxes for organic and sustainable food, and vegetarian and vegan offerings are well represented too. While many of the market's stalls offer their own delivery service, the Market's own, all-encompassing Queen Vic Market Delivery Service is set to launch on October 29 - keep your eyes online.
This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Visit Victoria. Support Victorian producers by buying online through Click for Vic.
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