Ten great food and wine spots in Ballarat

On the surface, it's hard to see Ballarat as a great foodie destination. But scratch a little harder and there are heaps of great little spots popping up around the place.

Here, I'll run through ten great suggestions for somewhere terrific to eat and drink if you're visiting our great town or even if you live here and need a suggestion to get you up and moving for some new tastes.


1. Breakfast at L'Espresso.

A Ballarat institution. Some ripper ways to kick off the day here. I personally love the Parmesan Scrambled Eggs, a freshly squeezed OJ and a long macchiato, but there are myriad choices to keep you and yours happy and content. A top spot to pick up some cool new tunes from Greg's CD selection too!

2. CAKE Bakeshop, in Main Road

Can thoroughly recommend the "Red Velvet" cupcakes and get into some truly wicked "Grounded Pleasures" hot chocolate.

3. John Harbour, Butcher

One of our town's legends. He and his band o' butchers are permanently cheery (even on the crowded Saturday mornings) and provide consistently excellent meat. Any cut you want, plus some great smallgoods seasonally ranging from Christmas Hams to haggis!

4. Eclectic Tastes

Serving truly excellent coffee, a constantly changing menu of interesting lunches, and a must-have lemon-curd muffin after.

5. Beers at the Lake View

No better place to be in the afternoon as the sun sets over a shimmering Lake Wendouree. Some ice-cold Coopers Pale or Asahi on tap, and plenty more choices (inc. a cheeky Mitchell Harris Rosé or Fumé) in the fridge...

6. Forge Pizza

Rock up to pick up your brilliant crispy-crusted pizza and you'll see this joint is absolutely pumping. expect a bit of a wait for your dinner, but it's ABSOLUTELY worth it.

7. Campanas' Stockade Cellars

Love wandering around Campanas', always some new and interesting drops to tantalise the tastebuds, and now with a rocking deli it's got a bit of everything. Brilliant smallgoods and a great range of cheeses and other bits and pieces. A massive selection of wines both local and from afar. You can really spend ages in here.

8. Craig's Royal Hotel

When it comes to institutions, this is it. An amazing restoration of the original 1850s hotel, it now has brilliant meals 7 NIGHTS A WEEK. The absolute go-to choice especially on those difficult Sunday thru Tuesday nights...

9. The Ballaarat

This "old society" club has been restored into a fantastic restaurant with really good modern cuisine and some ripper local wines. Get in and try it out, it's excellent.

10. Dessert and Wines at Lydiard Wine Bar

This is the ideal way to see out the night. The dessert tasting platter is a particular sensation, and the extensive wine list showcases the best of our region. A very cool venue to relax and savour the tastes and ambience...


So there you go, a few suggestion for your next little jaunt.
I'll update with some newies to try out soon....

Wine Industry Smallgoods Smackdown - making the Mitchell Harris entries...

After growing a couple of porkers ourselves in the first part of the year, then despatching them a couple of weeks ago, it was time to put our beautiful home-grown, free-range pork into use in some smallgoods.

Last night we put together these salamis and chorizos as seen here in the video....

In a few weeks these products will head off to compete in WISS ... the Wine Industry Smallgoods Smackdown... against meat tasties from other winemakers throughout the country.

Wish us luck, and enjoy the video, with a soundtrack "Hours" by talented Ballarat musos Dan Houlihan & Brett Augustine.

Mitchell Harris Smallgoods for the SMACKDOWN!

How could we NOT be a part of WISS?


Born from a love of all things dead animal, the Wine Industry Smallgoods Smackdown is a smallgoods challenge for winemakers who play with meat. The competition - to decide who has the best tasting smallgoods. 


Wine bon vivants Mike Bennie and Dave Brookes are co-founders and co-Chair of Judges for this most prestigious of competitions. All winemakers who cure, cook, dehydrate, spice, pummel, puree, hang or smoke are eligible to enter their meat goods.


So under the watchful eye of co-opted Mitchell Harris bro, Mick Harris, some fine porkers have met their match and entered the world of WINEMAKERS MAKING MEATS!

Here are a few shots of a recent salami-day at MH HQ...

The Pork Grind...

Filling the tubes...

Lookin' goooood....

Mitch's surgical knots at work...

Into the cellar...

The Golden By-product... crackling...

So come on winemakers, time to measure your meat against ours in Mike & Dave's challenge... the Wine Industry Smallgoods Smackdown! 

Don't forget to follow @mikerism101 and @vino_freakism  for all the goss on TWITTER, and follow us @mitchell_harris to see the progress of our meats!

Steamed Murray Cod with Tomato Nahm Jim - matched with Mitchell Harris Sauvignon Blanc Fumé

Ralph Kyte-Powell, John Harris, Alla Wolf-Tasker & Claire Winton Burn at the Daylesford Regional Producers' Day at the Lake House.

As promised, the recipe from Masterchef's Claire Winton Burn that matched so beautifully with our Mitchell Harris Sauvignon Blanc Fumé 2010 at the Daylesford Regional Producers' Day last weekend.

Steamed Murray Cod with Tomato Nahm Jim

Serves 2

2 x 150g Loddon Valley cod fillets, skin removed

Murray River sea salt, to taste

2 cloves Australian garlic, chopped

2 coriander roots, carefully washed and coarsely chopped

1 long red chilli, coarsely chopped

1 long green chilli, coarsely chopped

8 ripe cherry tomatoes, coarsely chopped

2 small (or 1 large) red shallot

1 small green chilli, finely sliced (you can substitute a small red chilli if green ones are not available)

3 tablespoons palm sugar, shaved

2 tablespoons Megachef brand fish sauce

60 ml lime juice

Coriander leaves, to serve

• To prepare the nahm jim, combine the garlic and coriander root in a mortar and use the pestle to pound into a coarse paste Add the long chillies and pound to a fine paste. Add the tomatoes and pound until just pulped, then add the small green chilli, the shallots, palm sugar, fish sauce and lime juice and stir to dissolve Taste the nahm jim for a balance of heat, saltiness, sourness and sweetness, adjusting as necessary Set aside until ready to serve.

• To steam the cod, place the fillets on some baking paper in a steamer. Cover, and steam until just cooked through (about four minutes).

• Meanwhile, place a generous amount of the nahm jim on each plate. Once the fish is cooked, place it on top, then drizzle with a little extra nahm jim and top with some coriander leaves.

• Serve immediately with a crunchy salad and some steamed rice.