Footer
Produced and published by the School of Historical & Philosophical Studies, The University of Melbourne
Published July 2008
Published July 2008
Partners
Living in Melbourne suits me very well. In a few minutes I can be in the centre of the city with all the bustle of up-to-the-minute commerce. In a few minutes I can be in parkland. Traffic and transport and all the business of city living are very manageable. I feel very safe. My neighbours and those I meet out walking always have a smile and a greeting. I have all the latest distractions when I want them: theatre, music, cinema and exhibitions. And most importantly Melbourne offers easy and affordable access to some of the freshest and most diverse food in the world.
Melbourne's population reflects a history of large-scale migration. Throughout my growing-up years and continuing to this day, food supply reflected and reflects the preferences and traditions of our migrants. In the years immediately after World War II the first New Australians, as they were then known, came from invaded Baltic countries as well as Jewish refugees from various parts of Eastern Europe and Germany. Soon afterwards came large numbers of Italian and Greek migrants, as well as even larger numbers of British migrants. Among the new arrivals were some who quickly started to grow the foods they were accustomed to, and others who established importing businesses to ensure supplies of culinary staples.
For those who were interested (and my mother was exceedingly interested), it became possible to experiment with different pickles, with rye bread, with unknown cheeses, with olive oil, and in certain suburbs and country towns we discovered broccoli, globe artichokes and zucchini rather than giant vegetable marrows (although they were pretty good too, when simmered with dill and parsley).
It would be foolish to suggest that some suburbs are not more affluent than others, but by and large, the food supply is egalitarian. Almost every shopping strip has a quality 'gourmet' shop of some sort, and supermarkets increasingly stock items that would once have been thought exotic. Shopping strips still include a fruit and vegetable shop of the old-fashioned variety where one either handles the food oneself or is served, but where pre-packaged plastic-wrapped little trays of product are rarely seen. Fresh coriander and fresh ginger and snow peas and mixed salad leaves and tropical fruit are everyday purchases, and the range and variety are continuing to expand. These same shopping strips almost always have a friendly butcher, but less often a vibrant humming fresh fish shop. Large ranges of Asian flavourings and noodles and fresh vegetables are mainstream, reflecting more recent migration patterns.
One of the exciting things for a Melbourne food-lover is to discover the special character of different neighbourhoods. During the city's annual Food and Wine Festival, one of the popular attractions is the possibility of exploring these food streets, guided by someone who knows them well and can explain the mysteries of pomegranate syrup, or smoked pork bones, or dried bean curd skin, or identify a durian. Among these interesting streets are Victoria Street, Abbotsford, for Vietnamese specialities, also at the Footscray Market and Chinatown in Little Bourke Street; Sydney Road, Brunswick, for Middle Eastern delicacies; Johnston Street, Collingwood, for Spanish hams, sausages and much more; Carlisle Street, Balaclava, for freshly made bagels and nearby Acland Street for borsch and cabbage rolls and extraordinary cakes; Lygon Street, Carlton, and surrounding streets for all things Italian.
We have neighbourhood cafés and restaurants demonstrating infinite diversity, we have splendid bakeries, we have tea-houses and serious coffee houses, and kiosks at the end of piers and jetties, and coffee shops in art galleries and public spaces, we have picnic tables in our splendid parks, and last but not least we have enviable fresh food markets, large and small. I have been an enthusiastic food-lover all my life and I have experienced only a fraction of what this city has to offer.