Curious about the food you eat? So too are the team at Torello Farm who pride themselves on championing the food producers of the Mornington Peninsula.
What you see here is what the season provides; as a result, customers are encouraged to throw away their shopping list and let Mother Nature guide their selection. The farmgate is often likened to a farmers’ market where the offering of locally grown produce is ever-changing. On any given day you might find the farm crew dropping off punnets of sun-kissed tomatoes grown only metres away from the farmgate, alongside a Flinders farmer unloading boxes of avocados, or perhaps a delivery of biodynamically grown apples and juice from Red Hill.
In addition to seasonal fruit and vegies, an extensive selection of neighbourhood treasures, such as Main Ridge goat’s cheeses, Tuerong sourdough breads, and olive oils from one of the Peninsula’s many groves, are available seven days a week. Local specialities, depending on the season, could also include Red Hill truffles, wakame and mussels harvested from Port Phillip, or an assortment of farm-grown flowers.
Many would argue that Torello Farm’s pièce de resistance, however, is its selection of ethically produced meat that’s bred on the owner’s farm in Tuerong. This Belted Galloway grass-fed beef and Dorset Down free-range lamb took out the From the Paddock Trophy at the 2023 delicious. Harvey Norman Produce Awards. Judge Andrew McConnell said: "Torello Farm is a deserving winner of this award for their incredible commitment to nose-to-tail butchery and heritage breeds. Their Belted Galloway grass-fed beef and Dorset Down free-range lamb have as much integrity on the plate as they do in the way they are reared and supplied to the consumers."
Because Torello Farm processes whole animals, customers can expect to find exciting, lesser-known cuts such as flat iron, pope’s eye or denver steak, alongside more common offerings such as eye fillet and topside roasts. Those willing to step outside their usual repertoire and try the less familiar cuts will receive plenty of cooking guidance and recipes from the Torello Farm staff and website. This approach to beef and lamb production highlights the owner’s commitment to ethical and sustainable practices.
Torello Farm’s sustainability endeavours continue in the farmhouse kitchen where excess beef and lamb, along with seasonal vegetables, are lovingly made into a wide range of take-home meals including lasagnes, curries, cottage pies and ragus. There’s vegetarian and vegan options too, and the on-site kitchen also produces an eclectic range of pickles and preserves from seasonal gluts such as tomato sauce, gin and lime marmalade, jam for ham, and beetroot relish.
Keep an eye on Torello Farm’s website for its selection of workshops created to spark curiosity and educate customers further, covering a range of topics from fermenting vegetables to building a water-saving wicking bed or cooking secondary cuts of steaks. ‘Pick your own sunflowers’ will be a new offering this year too.
Opening hours: daily 8am-6pm
Torello Farm 410 White Hill Rd, Dromana P: 5981 0335
www.torellofarm.com.au FB: torellofarm Insta: torellofarm
