A Valentine’s Day Picnic
Here are our suggestions from the Market for the best, Valentine’s Day picnic spread.
We are here to share some of our favourite picnic-friendly essentials and where to find them at the Market.
At the top of our list, a crusty baguette. Not only is bread a very picnic-friendly choice, but it makes a delicious base for whatever you feel like putting on top of it. We recommend going for a freshly baked French baguette or sourdough baguette. Cut thick slices with a bread knife or simply tear off a piece, ready to dip.
May we suggest a borek too? Take it from us, they’re a crowd favourite at any picnic. For our spread we went for a classic cheese and spinach borek. Eat it on its own or dunked in a bit of tzatziki, or another of your favourite dips from one of our traders in the Dairy Produce Hall.
Another easy-to-add item to your picnic are olives – something you’ll find we are in no shortage of at the Market. Choose from Sicilian, kalamata, feta stuffed, chilli balsamic, pepper-stuffed, or go for a mix of them like we did.
We find olives work great alongside fresh produce. Tomatoes and baby cucumbers are more, picnic-friendly choices and are even tastier when topped with some fresh basil leaves.
No picnic is complete without a delicious selection of cheese and cured meat, arguably one of the harder picnic-related decisions you’ll have to make. We recommend going for a soft, hard and/or a blue cheese. Our specialty cheesemongers are happy to guide you toward some great choices.
For our platter, we opted for a soft, creamy burrata – we’re feeling fancy, so we sprinkled it with some Egyptian Dukkah for additional texture and a great nutty flavour. For our second cheese, we decided on a Warrnambool Club cheddar – a harder, but equally creamy, mouth-watering cheese.
As for the cured meat, we paired our cheeses with freshly sliced, spicy calabrese salami and Italian prosciutto – you’ll find you’re spoilt for deli meat options at the Market. Place a slice, along with a wedge of cheese on top of a piece of your baguette.
Lastly on the food front, the sweets – absolute musts for a Valentine’s picnic! We suggest some of our famous hot jam doughnuts coupled with some fresh fruit. For our platter, we went for some pears, apples and seasonal berries as they pair perfectly with savoury items. There is an abundance of strawberries and blueberries at the Market now. They’re juicy, sweet, and bring great colour and vibrancy to any picnic spread.
Finally, no picnic is complete without something refreshing to drink. Alcohol wise, we think any wine, beer, cider, or cocktail works perfectly at a picnic; choose something you enjoy sipping on in the sun. Alternatively, we highly recommend you try one of the Markets, fresh seasonal juices.
All that’s left to do now is devour your delicious spread and soak up the sunshine. Relax and unwind, and importantly enjoy and indulge. You deserve it!
Shop everything we included in our picnic here:
- Convent Bakery French Baguette: Andrew’s Bread Shop, Dairy Produce Hall
- Cheese & Spinach Borek: The Borek Shop, Dairy Produce Hall
- Olives: Hellenic Deli, Dairy Produce Hall
- Dip Twin Pack: Chipotle Hummus & Tzatziki: The Epicurean, Dairy Produce Hall
- Cherry Tomatoes: The Apple Corner, D Shed
- Apples & Pears: Shane’s Fruit, D Shed
- Basil: Queen’s Harvest, I Shed
- Burrata: Dianne’s Delights, Dairy Produce Hall
- Egyptian Dukkah: Gerwurzhaus, Dairy Produce Hall
- Warrnambool Club Cheddar: Bill’s Farm, Dairy Produce Hall
- Calabrese Spicy Salami: The Corner Larder, Dairy Produce Hall
- Italian Prosciutto: The Corner Larder, Dairy Produce Hall
- Hot Jam Doughnuts: American Doughnut Kitchen, Queen Street
- Strawberries: Berries Corner, H Shed
- Blueberries: Berries Corner, H Shed
- Packham Pears: The Fresh Pear, D Shed
- Fresh Juice: Lou’s Fresh Fruit & Smoothies, D Shed
Don’t forget, if you can’t make it to the Market, you can shop more than 3,000 products from close to 50 Market traders. The best part? Order before 10am on a Market day for same day delivery or click & collect. Click here to start shopping!
