Why wouldn't you want to join a newsletter that's all about food, seasonality and local produce!?
Visit Caroline at the delightful new “Little Grocer” in Armadale if you would like a spectacular Christmas Hamper with all the local Victorian trimmings – including FFM pudds!
We are very excited to announce that after our pudding rating number ONE last year, we have been popular enough to be asked to stock a few key stores around Melbourne…
So if you haven’t go time to head to the markets this Christmas, check out your local store, and if you live in Brunswick, your super IGA has us on a stand like this:
(sorry for fuzzy image!!)
Inspired by the change of seasons, we invited a very lovely couple to dinner on saturday night.
The Menu:
we started with a farmers’ market favourites platter, featuring gribiche & pork terrine, lemon and garlic olives, happy fruit almonds and dried fruit, sourdough baguette, smoked barra dip and Verde Providores almond skordalia…
then for mains, duck cassoulet with puy lentils, and heritage carrots, organic mesculin…
forgot to take any more photos – we were having too much fun!!!
but we finished with Tam’s amazing Bruni ma “something” (ugly but yummy) italian biccies, and a creme patissiere strawberry tart, recipe courtesy of Victoria Tea Rooms…
Thankyou for loyal support of Frank, Food & Me.
It has been a massive year, with the birth of my little boy Art, and the dropping back with wholesale production to focus on our boutique production for the farmers’ markets.
Ironically, just when I thought things would get more difficult with a child in tow, I really feel that we have re-focussed the vision of Frank, Food & Me, and got back to the roots a bit!
Whilst I haven’t been at all the markets, while I was getting used to being a mum, I wanted to thank you for your continued support, and I hope I’ll see you in the lead up to Christmas.
It might seem too early to be even considering Christmas again, but I have to let you in on a secret!
Due to the floods this year, it was one of the skinniest harvests on record for the Mildura fruit growing region, a third of what they usually harvest.
Not only very disappointing for our dear ol’ farmers, but also for Frank, Food & Me. We love making our puddings, and we love that last year you loved them! But given that there is no way we will use overseas imports… I wanted to let you know that the orders are coming in thick and fast, and I don’t want you to miss out.
We managed to get our hands on as much fruit as we could from our local family farmers, and have been soaking it for weeks now!
… we have tweaked our recipe, and we reckon that this year’s pudd is even better than last years!
Place your order online now:
Make your pudding choice a sustainable and conscious one this year, and support your local food producers.
• Awarded Melbourne’s best Christmas Pudding, Herald Sun 2010.
• Available in 100, 400, 800g, 1.5kg puddings to serving 1 – 15 people.
• Available in wheat free
• Made with local sun ripened, sun dried fruit family grown fruit. No inferior overseas imports, guaranteed.
• Using local butter, 50% more almonds, free-range eggs, organic flour, and homemade marmalade.
• Serve warm with brandy custard or cream. Add another nip of brandy on serving for a bit of extra headiness!
Frank, Food and Me is a culmination of Frank (my late grandfather), me, & the people that have shared their culture, recipes and lives with us. We celebrate Australian food heritage, heirloom produce varieties and recipes, using produce from sustainable practice farmers.
Kath, Founding Mother
After a big wrap in last year’s Herald Sun Food Guide, as Melbourne’s number 1 pudding, we are already being flooded with orders.
This year’s fruit harvest wasn’t as large as usual, in fact, about 30% of the normal taking, so there is a finite amount of local fruit available – which means a finite amount of Frank, Food & Me Christmas pudd!
Check out the “order online” page, and place your order today.
•Awarded Melbourne’s best Christmas Pudding, Herald Sun 2010.
•Available in 100, 400, 800g puddings to serving 1 – 10 people.
•Available in Wheat free
•Made with local sun ripened, sun dried fruit. No inferior overseas imports, guaranteed.
•Using local butter, 50% more almonds, free-range eggs, organic flour, and homemade marmalade.
•Shelf stable, stored in cool, dry location, away from direct sunlight.
•Serve warm with brandy custard or cream. Add another nip of brandy on serving for a bit of extra headiness!
If you have been wondering what is going on behind the scenes at Frank, Food and Me…well…
there has been a lot of mothering and enjoying my new role as mum – of course!…Art is a little character, and will be a regular feature from now on at the markets – I am back!
But we have also been working really hard on our new fabulous packaging for our Christmas Puddings this year.
We have been tweaking our recipe to make it better than the best pudding* in Melbourne (*that was us last year – according to Herald Sun) – hard to top, but we are going to serve it up again to the journo’s and add some brandy custard this time, and maybe we will get the gong again!
We have been playing around with as many seasonal varieties as we can get our hands on…this week at Abbotsford and Mt Eliza, check out the blood orange cake.
We have been sourcing new egg suppliers, fruit suppliers and oat suppliers, to ensure that you have the cream of the crop in our cakes.
And we have been tasting some yummy truffley cheese, to celebrate new season truffles at http://www.kitchenandbutcher.com.au/ in Healesville*…
(ok, that bit wasn’t work, but it was a great day out with the little’un and our mate from Perth!)
Whipped up a pear, chocolate and almond praline tart this arvo for St kilda farmers market tomorrow!
Start the day with a hearty porridge pot with Di’s rhubarb, and happy fruit almonds, and then glide your way through a zesty custard or lemon tart, orange blossom cardamom cake, or pistachio syrup cake.
Then grab one of our awesome apple sum muscat strudel topped with brown sugar frangipane and custard for dessert tomorrow night.
You might be feeling blue, so that’s when only Belgian brownie will do!
One way or the other, you shouldn’t miss out!
Surrounded by a flurry of wintery produce, I was ruminating on some flavour combo’s yesterday that are bound to light up the taste buds this weekend at Abbotsford Convent Slow Food Market (saturday), and at our new location – Mt Eliza Farmers Market on Sunday.
Firstly we are super excited that Mel has given us the chance to show the peninsula who and what Frank, Food & Me does! So thanks Mel (Mt Eliza Market manager).
Secondly, I will be hanging out at the Mt Eliza stall, with Artie (the new family addition) in the sling…so even if you dont fancy cake, you might fancy a goo-gaa at a baby! It will be his first market visit, so I hope he loves it, as he will be seeing a lot more of them!
We are trying some wintery flavour combos …uber excited… to ease the taste buds into it, we will have some delicious poached quince, rhubarb or pear, for our porridge pots, served with Happy Fruit roast almonds or sun muscats, and market fresh honey & yoghurt.
Today I am going to throw my hand at prepping some bits an bobs for the following delights:
Caramel macadamia strudel,
Quince & vanilla soaked sun muscat cake,
pistachio and orange blossom gluten free cake
Rich Chocolate tart with pear and almond praline
Coffee Rhubarb Crumble slice
Vegan panforte
Apple and spiced honey mini loafs
rhubarb hazelnut mini loafs
chai and date rounds
and custard tarts topped with your fave seasonal poached fruit or praline
Yeee ha! what fun! ambitious too!
So see you: Abbotsford Convent, Saturday 8-1pm
and Mt Eliza Farmers Market Sunday 9-1pm
Look for the Frank, Food & Me tent
Catch me whipping up one of my autumnal treats: plum and hazelnut upside down cake, on everyday gourmet today, network 10, 4pm.
Then join up to our newsletter and get the recipe that I wasn’t going to give away on national tv!!
See u at Abbotsford Convent next Saturday, and NOW in Mt Eliza farmers market on the 4th Sunday of each month!
Artis John Irwin Clarke was born at 2:20pm on Saturday 21st May, at home.
He is the most placid and beautiful creature I have ever laid eyes on…(but of course i hear you all say – I am indeed very biased!)
We are all so happy and blissed out right now, and wanted to share the news with all our supporters!
Thank you so much for all your well wishes in pregnancy, and your continued love for our cakes!
Don’t forget – 4pm TODAY, Network Ten…Everyday Gourmet…get a glimpse of me cooking Earl Grey Tea cakes, and my bump while he was still in my belly!!
Love to you all x
