Food & Drink
You don't need to be a cook to find something of interest here, just enjoy eating what some-one else has lovingly prepared or grown ..
Kids love cooking classes, especially when they can lick the spoon. Even if you discourage them from applying for MKR because you don't want a dozen guests trashing your house, there are places where they can develop their culinary skills such as Itsy Bitsy Chef in Port Melbourne, Gourmet Kids in Malvern and Luscious Affairs in Hawthorn East.
You can practice your hunter / gatherer skills at a Trout and Salmon Farm. Take a day trip to one of the fish farms outside Melbourne and cast a line into a well stocked ponds to bring back dinner.
There is a wide variety of fruit you can pick and take home (provided it lasts that long) including cherries, strawberries, raspberries, boysenberries, youngberries, blackberries, loganberries, brambleberries and blueberries. The peak of the season is December and January but some types of fruit is available at other times of the year. Check out our guide Pick Your Own Pick Fruit.
Another way to pick up some yummy and wholesome food is to visit a farmers market. Check out one of these markets.
Two of the best places to find u-pick orchards and food markets are the Dandenong Ranges and Yarra Valley. Our guides to these areas are indispensable: The Best Family Activities in the Dandenong Ranges and The Best Family Activities in the Yarra Valley.
You don't have to be a chocoholic to take a Chocoholic Tour in central Melbourne, but it sure does help.
A visit to the Phillip Island Chocolate Factory provides the chance to see some chocolate wonders and come out with a chocolate smeared face.
But .. the ultimate chocolate experience could be a visit to the Yarra Valley Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery in Yarra Glen.
If your palette extends to more than just chocolate and you are prepared to walk to get your food, then try a Foodi Walking Tour in central Melbourne.
Do you want to learn a bit more about how food arrives on your plate? Take a visit to Main Ridge Dairy at Main Ridge on the way to Phillip Island and see a working farm where a herd of goats are milked and handcrafted cheeses produced. August is when the female goats kid! This is a lovely time for families to do a milking tour and meet 100 or so kids! Although personally I'm not so sure about having so many kids around. Last week having twenty kids at our son's birthday party made my head spin.
A playground and a place to eat is like an oasis in the desert. Check out our list of places at Restaurants / Cafes / Hotels with Playgrounds. You're unlikely to find a camel or a sandpit but definitely a slide.
