Darriwill Farm Café Highton

As the days are getting cooler, it’s only natural for us to seek comfort in the meals we eat. Our stomachs crave the warmth found in hearty winter meals of slow-cooked lamb, healthy soups and the rich butterscotch sauce of a sticky date pudding. These are all items found at the Darriwill Farm Café and meals that head chef Josh Beaumont loves to cook.
“It’s just really flavoursome food,” he says. “It’s all good food and it’s my menu so everything I’ve put on it I love to cook.”
With six weeks to perfect the autumn menu, tested mostly through specials run during the period, the café is set to have another change in the coming weeks, fully welcoming the hearty dishes of winter onto their plates.
Ingredients are sourced as locally as possible, with meat from Sage in Bannockburn, eggs from Kossies in Stonehaven and only organic vegetables to be used. The love for their ingredients follows through in their dishes, as everything from the first breakfast served to the afternoon treat is made in house.

“Everything is made in house – or as much of it as possible. That means sauces, soups, as much as we can, the only thing we can’t do is bake our own bread here,” Josh says.
There’s a clear love for the food that they serve up at Darriwill Farm Café and it’s reflected in the regulars that stream through their door week after week.
“We’ve got people that come in here seven days a week – a few times a day even – and we know their coffee, our staff know exactly what they’re going to order and how they like it,” he says.
With the change in menu has also brought on a new coffee supplier, Julius Meinl , also stocked at the Darriwill Farm Café in Hamilton. Another similarity between the Hamilton venue is the shop attached, with the ethos of bringing quality farm produce to locals without the long trip.

Though the shop sells more than just your deli meats, oils and gourmet treats, there’s also homeware items, hampers and Geelong-made chocolate, all serving as the perfect gifts for a loved one.
With a strong focus on local, quality produce and with love put into each dish, Darriwill Farm Café is easily a spot that can become part of the daily routine.
Where: Shop 10-11, 65-71 Barrabool Road, Highton
Ph: 03 5241 2933
Retail: Mon-Sat 9am-5pm; Sun 10am-3pm
Café: Mon-Sun 7.30am-5pm
Written and photographed by Amanda Sherring