A celebration of cheese and cider

Proudly part of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival 2016, Fromage a Trois Cheese & Cider Festival once again filled the picturesque grounds of Werribee Park on Sunday March 6.

There is no denying, Werribee Park Mansion makes a truly magnificent location for an event and it was further enhanced by the magnificent weather for the hordes of visitors to the 2016 Fromage a Trois.

The event showcased specialist cheese and cider producers from all over Australia, as well as other gourmet food products. Guests enthusiastically tasted samples and filled up their bags with an amazing array of artisan produce that was on sale by the 60-plus exhibitors.

Many visitors had wisely lathered on the sunscreen and come prepared by bringing their hats, sun umbrellas and folding chairs to relax in style while listening to live music and enjoying the various food options available from the food court or food vans, or dined on cheese platters purchased from the producers. There was even the option to ‘Build Your Own Picnic’ hosted by Bursaria, which was a farmers market style marquee selling a variety of delectable gourmet items and putting them together picnic style for you to enjoy on the lawn with family and friends.

There was a kitchen demonstration stage giving visitors the privilege of ‘meeting the makers’ and learning from industry experts, including Chef Matija Stefancic from The Park Werribee, Chef Ben D’Arcy from Shadowfax Wines, Chef Rhys Blackley from Circa, Chef Giorgio Linguanti from That’s Amore Cheese, Chef Mike Patrick from Fancy Hank’s BBQ Joint and Chef Sam Grant from Pot & Pan.

This family-friendly event also catered to the needs of vegetarians, vegans, those with disabilities and people who require a gluten or nut free diet. The beautiful grassy lawn was perfect place for adults to sit back and enjoy a lazy day with good food, entertainment and activities and also for kids to run around and have fun.

With tickets priced at $35 per person for pre-purchase or $40 at the gate, and children under 12 given free entry, the event was reasonably well priced for a full day of fun. However, I do think at this price, it is a bit ‘rich’ to charge extra for parking. Being ushered into a dusty car park by overzealous ‘weekend warrior’ parking attendants and then charged $5 per car, only to find out (after the event), that there was free parking (closer to the event area) was a bit of a slap in the face.

Regardless of those minor issues, Fromage a Trois was a great event and I hope to go back next year.