"There are only two kinds of people, Italians and those who wish they were".
- Anonymous
~ Melbourne Tomato Festival 2016 ~
It's here! The Melbourne Tomato Festival has finally arrived! This Sunday, 21st February, 2016, the leafy green suburb of Eltham will be turned into a sea of red! Guy Grossi, his family and the Melbournese Movement pay homage to the humble tomato as a celebration and preservation of the Italian tradition of preserving tomatoes for their use throughout the year.
The Melbournese Movement defines our place, where Italian and Australian heritage come together and where food culture and traditions are ingrained as part of our identity. Rooted from generations before us, Italian culture is one that reflects its regions, produce and its people and their lifestyle. Melbournese is a movement, which preserves the strength, and pride of our Italian culture while evolving to create new traditions that respect our current home" (Melbournese Movement).
So today, you don't have to be born in Italy to be Italian or wish you were :) We can all be Italian for a day this Sunday at the Melbourne Tomato Festival and "National Italian Day", celebrating the humble tomato and all things Italian. There'll be Italian food and beverages, music, entertainment, guest speakers, farmers produce markets, celebrity chefs, a tomato growing competition, cooking demonstrations and hands on passata making workshops.
The crew from Home Make It will be running back to back, hands on passata making workshops throughout the day, so be sure to get in early to book your spot. And please, come and say hello and introduce yourself to a member of the Home Make It team. We'd love to meet you!
The Melbourne Tomato Festival will be held on Sunday 21st February, 2106 at Edendale Farm in Eltham between 10am - 4pm. Tickets available for pre-purchase only until sold out. You can purchase your tickets ONLINE. The inaugural Melbourne Tomato Festival was a sell out last year, so avoid disappointment and purchase your tickets now! Adults $25, Children 6-13 years $10 and Children 5 & under FREE.
It's promising to be stunning weather this Sunday, so hop on your bike or catch a ride in on the train or bus. Parking is available, however will be limited.
Photo: Justin McManus. Cade and Bonnie Butler teach their son Odin how to do it yourself.
In the lead up to the Melbourne Tomato Festival, Journalist, Suzanne Carbone, The AGE wrote a fantastic article this week titled, "Hipsters squeeze out the Italians in the art of making passata at Melbourne Tomato Festival". Follow the link to read the full article.
Photo: Justin McManus. Cade Butler and wife Bonnie fill bottles with homemade passata.
The article features our very own Cade Butler and his lovely wife Bonnie Halliday.Their passion for homemade produce has been dubbed as "saavy DIY hipsters", and much to Cade's horror they are creating new traditions in their family making passata, salami and preserving olives. It's a family affair proving you don't have to be born in Italy to make Italian food and drinks!
The article also features the upcoming CERES Fair Food, community Crowdsaucing Day on 30th April, 2016 in neighborhoods all over Melbourne. Crowdsaucing Day is an opportunity for communities to come together to bottle locally grown and organic tomatoes to be used throughout the year. Crowdsaucing promotes sustainable food practices and fairly traded produce. Follow the link to CERES Fair Food if you want to sign-up for the Crowdsaucing Day or join their fair food movement.
~ Craft Day Out - Melbourne Food & Wine Festival 2016 ~
If you can't get along to the Melbourne Tomato Festival this Sunday you can join us at The Craft & Co on Sunday 6th March, 2016 for the Craft Day Out where we will be running more passata making workshops throughout the day.
Image: The Craft & Co, 390 Smith Street, Collingwood
The Craft Day Out is a unique "foodie" event as part of the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival. And what a day out it will be! If you have ever wanted to learn how to make artisan produce such as passata, salami, cheese, wine and beer. There will be a full day of interactive workshops, demonstrations and appreciation sessions with the masters of their trade including That's Amore Cheese, The Meat Room, Rob Dolan Wines, FB*PROPAK, Archie Rose Distilling Co. and of course, the crew from Home Make It.
Photo: Anu Kumar
Enjoy a shared table feast lunch comprising of freshly made produce by The Craft & Co, Head Chef, Dom Marzano. The Craft & Co is the newest kid on the block at 390 Smith Street, Melbourne. If you're into unique food and beverage experiences, then you'll love this venue and concept. All under the one roof, a brewery, distillery, deli, cafe`/restaurant, retail space, bottle shop, cheese and meat rooms.
Don't miss out on this fabulous event, limited spots available so book your tickets via the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival program ONLINE now.
~ Cade's Brew News ~
Hi Brewers, I can't believe it's almost the end of February already, so much to tell and on the horizon!
I was like an excited kid at Christmas when we received some new and fresh hops from the Crosby Hop farm in the USA. We got in Cascade, Chinook, Columbus and a couple of experimental hop varieties: Idaho #7 and Idaho #6. So if you want some fresh big USA hops for your next recipe, you know where to go!
Along with those we have an extensive range of Wyeast and Whitelabs pure pitch yeast. We even have a few sour beer inducing Lacto & Brett bugs in there too for those adventurous brewers out there.
Starting at our Reservoir store soon, we will be expanding our equipment hire range to include an all grain brewing kit. The amazing SS Brewtech Mash Tun & 38L kettle, this will convert any extract tin brewer to the All Grain side of the force in a single afternoon.
Home Make It are proud to team up with Melbourne's newest brew club, the Merri Mashers and fab new venue The Craft & Co to bring you the BREW FC Competition. This is a home brew comp with a difference, instead of brewer vs brewer this is club vs club! We are pitting Melbourne's best brew clubs against each other in a test of Stouts & Porters for a chance to win bragging rights and a chance to win a tap takeover at The Craft & Co. Let's get ready to ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuumble!
Happy Brewing!!
~ Food & Beverage Workshops ~
Our in store 2016 calendar for food & beverage workshops is action packed! Click on the link for all the course dates, venues and details. Our workshops are hands on, fun and interactive. To participate in one of our great courses, just book your spot ONLINE or call our Clayton or Reservoir stores for assistance.
Our line up of Workshops include, but not limited to are;
~ A new look and concept at our Clayton store ~
Our newly renovated Clayton store is almost ready to roll out all the new facilities that will be available to our customers. Only a few more weeks and we'll be ready! I don't want to give too much away, but I can give you a few clues. Think coffee, panini, sit, play, learn, create... Without giving anything else away, I can also show you some recent pictures of the renovated store.
~ Wholesale & Trade Division of Home Make It ~
Home Make It has recently expanded to include a Wholesale & Trade division which has been launched to help supply businesses nationwide with quality, unique food and beverage making equipment – be it for the consumer or the trade-user. Our broad product range has been developed to help supply every type of business, from home brew stores to breweries, from kitchenware or bar-ware to shops and restaurants. Follow the Wholesale link to learn more about it.
~ Specials ~
Click the link below to check out this week's Specials.
Check out our Gift Vouchers and Course Gift Vouchers also available instore or ONLINE.
Remember, you can keep up to date with all the daily news from the team, recipes and events by following us on Twitter or Facebook.
Enjoy the weekend and all this glorious weather! And if you are heading over to Edendale Farm on Sunday for the Melbourne Tomato Festival, be sure to come and say hello to the crew!
