Food History

My day in the city didn’t bring me any great insights, except on the ubiquity of olives. Emma and I visited a range of chocolate shops and sat down at several cafes. We visited two major upmarket department stores and looked into about 3 miles worth of windows.

Along the way we paid a visit to Vic Market, but only to the delicatessen area and the organic food section. The olive shop was a great deal of fun and we discovered orange balsamic vinegar.

The organic food section of the market had almost as much wine as organic food. The most curious wine was a range that had chilli. I asked the stallowner and he said that the chilli was steeped in the grapes from the early stages. A sip of chilli white port gave me a curious metabolic lift and my brain went walkabout until we got to an Asian grocer. It was reported to be the best in Melbourne. I did find three new types of pickles, but I need to check out Victoria Street and Springvale before I judge how good this shop actually is.

All of this was great fun and we had a tremendous day, but I had no great insights. Some of the shops are there because of a residential population that didn’t exist in central Melbourne forty years ago, and some of them exist to service the cafe society that the city is famous for. Some of the specialist shops hang on at Vic Market, but they have diminished.

Most of the rest is for tourists. Food for tourists. Food souvenirs for tourists. Lord of the Fries selling Aussie-cut chips with all sorts of international toppings. Instant (and good) Indian food on platters for about the price of a drive-in-take-away. Chocolate cakes of the most divine. And round the corner franchise outlet after franchise outlet after franchise outlet, all in a row.

Putting it all together, food outlets mainly show the current zones of the city centre and what they’re used for. You can see food reflecting the student area and tourist central and the busy office zone and the walkways. Lots and lots of cafes. Alleys seem to have cafes strewn further and further each time I visit. I haven’t yet seen a cafe that’s the old type - Italian and seventies and big machines and gentle pace. One near Degraves Street comes close. The rest must be there, but I didn’t spot them. What I saw is less what has been than an entire refurbishment of food-Melbourne. Not food-past, but ever-changing food-present.

The history is there, but I may have to dig for it a bit. Melbourne looks like a straightforward city. Cosmopolitan. Multicultural. Modern. Under the surface it’s a whole bunch more. I just have to look from a new angle.