Holidays are so often centred around food, and it’s a great gifting choice if the people you love have enough ‘stuff’ in their lives – from locally made sweet treats to fresh produce, check out these local businesses for your food-loving loved ones!
Factory Cafe, 156 Adelaide Street, Brisbane City
Factory Cafe, 21 Venture Drive, Noosaville
Retail and Orders, 144 Adelaide Street, Brisbane City
Cafe & Retail, Sunshine Plaza / Maroochydore
My favourite CBD chocolate fix! They have vegan and gluten free options (although sadly the rocky road is no longer vegan) and their products are free from palm oil. Drop into your nearest store to measure out a bucket of goodies for yourself or someone you love – no online shop or phone orders because of their ever-changing range, small-batch creations, and focus on freshness.
3/321 Honour Avenue Graceville
Starting in 2004 in a small kitchen, Lick have customised over 1000 flavours for some of Queensland’s best restaurants and cafes as well as providing ice cream to the Ekka for its renowned Ekka Strawberry Sundae since 2011. Drop into their Graceville store for a freezer pack, cone, or a lush sundae, order a custom ice-cream cake via their website, or find a list of their local stockists here.
Kokopod’s multi-award-winning chocolate was born when founder Brigid went on exchange to Germany, where her host father worked for a worldwide commercial chocolate company, and fell in love with European chocolate. She now works from a purpose-designed commercial kitchen on the Sunshine Coast. Shop online or find a stockist near you.
Located in Brisbane’s Northside, Stone & Lea specialises in artisan jars of handcrafted goodness. Founded in 2015 by Rosanne Stone, Stone & Lea uses seasonal and fresh produce gathered mostly from the markets and local farmers to revamp the homemade jam, chutney and curd stereotype, recreating the classics and adding a modern twist on old favourites. All goods are prepared by hand, with no added preservatives, and crafted in seasonal small batches. Find a list of stockists and upcoming markets on the website.
42-60 Albert Street, Brisbane City
Shop 5, Brisbane Arcade, 160 Queen Street, Brisbane City
Belgian chocolate, handmade in Brisbane by Paralympian and chocolate connoisseur Gerrard Gosens and his wife Heather. The flagship store on Albert Street also serves freshly brewed Montville Coffee, sweet treats and, of course, their hand-crafted chocolates.
164 Baroona Road, Paddington
A family-run boutique food hall whose hallmark is freshly prepared, high quality gourmet food and artisan products and ingredients from around the world, supported by the best in fresh local produce and flowers from selected Australian growers. With an extensive range of over 3,000 products including hard-to-find and specialty items (such as edible flowers, fresh winter truffles, freeze dried raspberries and hundreds of different herbs), they also offer free in-store tastings every Saturday. Hampers and gift cards are also available.
4 Hubert St, Woolloongabba
Small batch chocolates made by hand, pairing world class chocolate with the best local ingredients. 31 Degrees have a gorgeous selection of Christmas treats and also take custom orders. Workshops, workshop gift vouchers, and chocolate subscriptions are also available.
541 Kents Lagoon Road, Kalbar
A collaboration between Scenic Rim farmers and the Scenic Rim Regional Council, the farm box concept was born out of the COVID-19 lockdown as a way of connecting Scenic Rim producers with city consumers who were unable to visit the region during the health crisis. The Farm Boxes are fully customisable and will be delivered to your front door, and you can also add a bottle or two of Scenic Rim beer, wines, cider, spirits or liqueurs. Gift vouchers are also available.
They are currently delivering to Brisbane, Ipswich, Redlands, Logan, the Gold Coast, Scenic Rim, Toowoomba & Highfields – check your delivery availability on their website.
There is now also a Farm Shop & Cafe at Kalbar where you can enjoy local coffee and fresh local food.
Chocolate maker Amy Sargeantson serves up fresh chocolate-coated berries, chocolate nut slabs, rustic hot chocolates and brownies, made in Albion, Brisbane. There are vegan and dairy free options, and gift hampers and gift vouchers are also available.
155 Wickham Terrace, Spring Hill
169 Latrobe Tce, Paddington (at Empire Revival)
Founded in 1993 on the Gold Coast by Peter Ingall and the late Danica Antunovich, Mayfield Chocolates seeks to make use of real Australian ingredients such as Queensland dark rum, Tasmanian leatherwood honey, native macadamia nuts, and pure fresh cream, and to use them in imaginative and original ways with chocolate of the highest quality. Find your closest stockist from the list on their website.
3 Josephine Street, Loganholme
A family owned and operated chocolate manufacturing business located in Brisbane, Australia, specialising in the manufacture of a variety of moulded couverture chocolates, including Hearts, Stars, Kisses, Medallions, Frogs, Christmas Bells and their popular Freckled products. They also produce chocolate flake for bakeries, restaurants and cafes as well as contract manufacturing for various companies including distributors, retailers, schools and 5-star hotels.
70 Eagle St, Brisbane City
12/46 James St, Fortitude Valley QLD 4006
97 Sandgate Road, Albion QLD 4010
Shop 17, Camp Hill Marketplace, 25 Samuel Street
In addition to freshly baked cakes and pastries, created in a commercial kitchen alongside their retail store in Albion, all packaged items – biscuits, chocolates, nougat, panforte and preserves, to name a few – are made in their kitchen and packaged in-store. They have a delicious collection of festive treats available and also offer Christmas catering.
16 Waterloo Street, Newstead
With humble home-kitchen origins, New Farm Confectionery is now known for its gourmet, elegant and contemporary take on classic confectionery, and chocolate, all handcrafted in Brisbane. Visit their flagship store or one of their many stockists for honeycomb, chocolate bark, nougat, marshmallow, and many more indulgent products. They offer dairy free and vegan options, and many of their products are gluten free. Workshops, gift vouchers, gift packs.
76 Skyring Tce, Newstead (at Gasworks)
20-22 James Street, Fortitude Valley (James Street Markets)
107 Ferry Road, Southport (Ferry Road Markets Gold Coast)
In 2002, a small produce retailer named “Fine Fruit” opened its doors within James Street Markets in Fortitude Valley, brought about by the shared passion, labour, and knowledge of Darren Frame and Mitch Love.
Today, The Standard Market Company is a family run business stocking fresh and flavoursome meats, fruit & veg, bakery, and deli, still owned and operated by Darren, along with his wife Nikki and son Chris. Although two decades have passed, their mission remains the same: to set the standard in food retail by providing customers with the highest quality gourmet foods and ingredients along with knowledgeable and friendly customer service.
New Farm Deli is Brisbane’s oldest Italian deli, established in 1975 as New Farm Continental Delicatessen. NFDC’s philosophy is to forever remember ‘the Deli’s’ humble beginnings and to instill old-fashioned service and quality, family values, genuine warmth and friendliness. They stock a vast range of products, with over a thousand different varieties of Australia and international cheeses, house-made focaccia and locally made artisan breads, cured meats and charcuterie, take-home meals, biscuits, patisserie items, oils, vinegars, pasta sauces, preserves and plenty of other pantry items.
With specialist advice always readily available on how to eat, store and utilize, the products are carefully selected, trialled and tested before offered for sale, offering a vast range of quality specialist lines from around the world, Australia and the NFDC kitchen. New Farm Deli has now been in the same family for more than 40 years with its fourth generation now enjoying its traditions and flavours.
Krsna is the owner and creator of BASIK Chocolates. BASIK has a local approach using the best ingredients that are locally sourced as well as produce from around the world. BASIK Chocolates was founded with a simple belief: that every chocoholic deserves a perfect bonbon that speaks to you. Discover fascinating flavour combinations, virtual tasting events, and more.
A movement by Queensland farmers, starting in the Scenic Rim, to encourage the giving of gifts that are grown on or gathered from Queensland farms.
Kay Tommerup, from the 6th generation Tommerup’s Dairy Farm, said: “Whether you choose to duck down to the local shops that stock local produce, order from a farmer direct delivery service, or immerse yourself completely in the experience of gathering from your local farmers and producers, you’ll be gifting so much more than the pleasure of enjoying something local and delicious. You’re gifting something that comes with the heart and soul of a local farmer and producer. Something that tells the story of the farm, the family, the passion for producing the best that we can for your family and friends to enjoy. You’ll be giving something that truly embraces the spirit of a Christmas gift and supports your local community.”
Source your gifts from local farmers, producers and growers who create everything from the world’s best cheeses, relishes, chocolates, gin, beer, wines, vodkas, meat products, eggs, the brightest festive vegetables, flowers, floral teas, ice creams, honey, cotton and woollen fashions, wooden artisan products, stone fruit, citrus ranges, fingerlimes, bespoke flavour experiences, and more.
Visit Tommerup’s #agrownandgatheredxmas page for a list of places to source locally grown and gathered products for Christmas, or simply search “shop from Queensland farms” or visit the Queensland Farmer’s Federation.
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