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Winter is synonymous with getting comfortable and cosy. This means queueing up at your local café for a coffee to go or using up your emergency supply of cheap, instant coffee in a bid to stay warm.
It's times like these we could turn to some of our city's best chefs for inspiration, so we've gone ahead and done that on your behalf. To continue our series we asked Hugh Allen executive chef at fine diner Vue de Monde (one of Melbourne's top 60 restaurants) to give us a list of his must-have winter pantry essentials. Hopefully, this list will help get us through this cold winter and help support small, local businesses in the process.
Allen's tips are geared towards starting your day in the best possible way: "I drink a lot of tea and coffee during winter," he says. "But I'm also all about broths and soups at the moment like minestrone, leek and potato or a chicken broth with noodles."
Hugh Allen's pantry essentials
Market Lane's coffee
"Good coffee is a must for me in the morning," says Allen. His go-to? Market Lane's coffee beans or Small Batch Roasting Co's beans. You can buy Market Lane's here or Small Batch's here.
Jala Jala Treats chocolate
Jala Jala Treats is owned by Yamatji Noongar woman, Sharon Brindley, who also runs Cooee Café in the Mornington Peninsula. Her line of sweet treats includes her white chocolate that comes in a Davidson plum or lemon myrtle flavour. She also sells saltbush caramel slices and lemon myrtle slices via the café. You can purchase her chocolate here.
Falco Bakery's bread
It's hard to try a treat you won't like from Collingwood bakery Falco, and its bread is no exception to the rule. Allen likes to get his bread freshly baked from the bakery or from North Melbourne bakers Bread Club.
Peanut butter
"I'm addicted to peanut butter and have been for as long as I remember, but only by itself. Sanitarium's Crunchy Peanut Butter is my favourite," says Allen.
Monk's Chai
If he isn't drinking coffee, Allen is drinking chai by Melbourne-owned brand Monk's Chai that operates out of Monk Bodhi Dharma café.