Overview
Reap the rewards of the Goldfields region's varied harvest, ranging from cool climate and high altitude produce to warm Mediterranean influences. On your travels, tuck into locally grown fruit and vegetables, homemade cheeses and sausages and specialty products of the highest order.
To market, to market
Find the freshest local produce at one of many local weekend markets dotted around the region. Fill a box with fresh fruit and veg, locally made cheese and smallgoods at the Bridge Mall Farmers Market in Ballarat, the Bendigo Community Farmers Market or popular monthly markets in charming Goldfields towns like Talbot, Maldon, Castlemaine and along the river at Avoca.
Country drive discoveries
Take time to venture along backroads and country lanes to find superb goods for sale at farm gates and roadside stalls.
Duck into Boort's Simply Tomatoes to sample their prized pickled green tomatoes or bite into a famous Harcourt apple and pick up a bag to take home at The Little Red Apple shop between Castlemaine and Harcourt. Visiting over summer? Head to Buninyong Blueberries just outside Ballarat to pick your own sweet berries straight off the bush.
Make your own hamper
Stock up on gourmet goodies galore at well-stocked grocery shop-cafes like Bendigo Wholefoods and Talbot Provedore and Eatery and small delis in many a Goldfields town.
Gather a delicious bounty of locally made products famous beyond the region. Find fine cheeses by Sutton Grange's Holy Goat and Ballarat's
Goldfields Farmhouse, handcrafted chocolate at Bendigo's Indulge, decadent puddings by Castlemaine's Pud, bullboar sausages (a regional speciality), at local butchers, as well as olive oil and free-range eggs.
Even if you're not in the area, you can browse a huge range of high-quality artisan products from the Loddon Valley at The Loddon Shed's online store.
