Elite Event: A Taste of Europe

Oh my goodness! It was as if I walked out of the office and into my own personal heaven. Being totally honest, I wasn’t really expecting much — I’ve had a lot of cheese in my days, and it takes a lot to impress me… but holy cow! Red Cow is absolutely mind blowing cheese, so I’ve walked away with a new favourite cheese brand!
My companion was pretty quick to park himself at the garlic bread and blue cheese, which were both delicious. I don’t know what’s up with that garlic bread, but there’s some serious witchcraft going on there.
I was more than happy to bring a bag of bread home — I’m just sad that my Über arrived earlier than intended and I had to dash without goodbyes. Thank you so much for the awesome event! Red Cow — this is not the last you’ve seen of me.

YAY! CHOLESTEROL and CARBS and CIDER (wine)!
What more could a Unilocal want?
Thankyou Mel P for wonderful night, full of cheese, bread and cider. It was great to catch up with those Elite Unilocalers I have not seen in a while, with the venue and grub bringing European Class™ to all who dare ventured.
Some highlights of the night:
* Someone posing the question, «Who cut the cheese?»
* Seeing how croissants are born out the back next to Brasserie’s oven
* Cheese, cheese and more cheese

On a cold and rainy Tuesday evening, most delicious breads and cheeses and wine and cider were just the thing. Everything was stand-​out, but my personal favourites were the blue cheese and the gruyère. Bonus points for presentation as there were seemingly endless ways to, ahem, cut the cheese (that wheel spinning thing was amazing).
As always, there was lovely company and good conversation. Definitely worth the tram to South Melbourne.

Wow, what an introduction to Unilocal’s elite and their generous sponsors!
My wife and I arrived a little early and ended up discovering the Palace nearby. It’s a really interesting bar and several other Unilocalers were also there in anticipation of the event. I enjoyed a Camden Town Flue Faker before heading back.
Beating Mel P to the punch we were first greeted by the aroma of the many large wheels of Sélection Rolf Beeler cheese imported by The Red Cow. My favourite was the Jersey Blue, a buttery raw blue on the verge of liquifying. This was closely followed by the Raclette, grilled to blistering perfection and scraped onto bread. The Gruyère was nutty, the Emmental light, the Milchzapfen refreshing and the Alp Sbrinz deliciously rich (once a fellow Unilocaler graciously showed me how to slice it).
Accompanying the cheese was Apfelwein imported by Ciderhaus. My favourite was the Bohnapfel though I greatly enjoyed the Freyeisen, the sparkling Kontor and the Speierling. Bookending these were beautifully red cocktails made from Apfelwein, gin and hibiscus.
The foundation of the night was the impressive Brasserie Bread. My favourites were the Olive & Rosemary and the Date & Apricot, though we sampled enough of each to pass for dinner. We left with loaves of Olive & Rosemary, Quinoa & Soya and a large Country sourdough which we immediately shared with family.
Here’s to many more.

Is it possible to call up the Red Cross and change my blood type to cheese positive? I swear I could pose a threat to any lactose intolerants after eating loads of cheese on the evening. This was pretty much stripping an event back to it’s basics; Cheese has featured at most Unilocal events, in some form, so why not make a whole event out if it? Lots of cheeses, which I forgot the name of, it’s pretty easy to forget when indulging in these dairy delights. Some softer nutty cheeses, young cow’s cheese through to semi firm, and a crumbly hard. Blue cheese even made an appearance. The best as always, was that grilled cheese on toast! Hello amazing awesome deliciousness. Not under a griller, but melted onto the bread by a transfusion. Fondue and great cider available too.

What a great night of carbs and dairy! Had some amazing breads (caramelized garlic was the best) mixed with some fine cheeses and to top it all off, pour your own ciders! What a winner! I can think of nothing better than spending a cold rainy Tuesday night in at brasserie bread sampling their finest and experiencing yet another fine Melbourne establishment.

Well there was bread, cheese and cider involved… It makes for an easy night to enjoy yourself! Then, being surrounded by good company and knowledgeable staff in a room that seems to be bubbling and building with with excitement as the time continues on, yeah — you have yourself a winning formula.
So they are some solid foundations, but it gets better. Red cow cheese provided us with so many varieties of delectable cheese (yes of course it included a fondue!) that knocked our socks off. Then the bread… whether you were a fan of the basic sourdough to accompany you cheese of choice or it was the garlic bread that took your nice breath away, the choices were supreme and immaculate. To be accompanied by multiple ciders from ciderhaus that just brought everything together and made you compelled to go try some more. What can I say Unilocal you have put on another indulgent event that leaves us waiting for the next one. Last but not least thank you for brassiere breads for the amazing hospitality and incredible selection of breads!

Okay, raise your hand if you like cheese. Keep it up if you like bread. And cider? HEY! ME TOO! (We should totally hang out more)
The breads were perfectly fluffy and full of flavour — the plain sourdough, the date and walnut, and of course, the garlic bread, were my highlights for the evening. The apfelwein was wonderful! I’d never tried it before but apel-​secco was a win in my books. The cocktail we received on entry was… I just… and with the cheese!!! Yes. As for the cheese… THE CHEESE! Grilled cheese was a big winner in my mind — there was also a delectable brie, a mouth-​watering gruyère, and a mind-​boggling blue for which I MAY have gone back for seconds… and thirds… and okay, maybe fourths. Who’s counting?! I left with a cheese headache and a big fat smile on my face.
Thank you Mel. Thank you Red Cow. Thank you Brasserie Bread. Thank you Ciderhaus. I just… I can’t. There are no words.

Lucky Elite Unilocalers went to cheese heaven at ‘A Taste of Europe’.
A cold and dark Tuesday night saw me and my +1 taking the tram to South Melbourne. There, the glow of lights from Brasserie Bread’s windows let us glimpse a huge crowd of Unilocalers, all partaking in the immense amounts of bread and cheese on offer.
Red Cow’s imported Swiss cheeses paired superbly with Brasserie Bread’s various loaves. While I started at one end and meant to sample everything, I don’t think I made it through all of them — there were so many! There were even rumors that one of the cheeses we ate was — gasp — illegal to sell (but okay to taste). Illegal cheese! I love it.
Out of the breads, my and my friends’ fave was the carmelised garlic. I’m still dreaming about it. (Although I’m glad I didn’t see my boyfriend later on, I ate so much.)
Cheese-​wise, the most fun portion of the evening was the hot cheese section, with raclette (melted cheese on toast) and DIY fondue made with real Kirsch (cherry liqueur). Top tip: pierce through the crust and you won’t drop your bread in the fondue!
Ciderhaus’ German Apfelwein (apple cider) was a standout — and I’m not just saying that because my boyfriend comes from Hessen, the region in Germany where Apfelwein is made. It was a treat to be able to sample the different types on offer, and being able to see what a delicious apple cider-​based cocktail you can make. I’m so jealous a lucky Unilocaler got a litre bottle of Apfelwein for winning the photo contest.
All in all, it was yet another stellar Unilocal party. It’s all about the little touches — the phtoobooth, having the Twitter/​Instagram handles of the companies posted on the wall, and of course, a gift bag. I have two loaves of Brasserie Bread that I might have to put some amazing cheese onto in the not-​so-​distant future.

Somewhere in my pile of notes to myself I have the check list of cheeses that I’d love to eat again and a mental list of breads! Standouts from Brasserie were the date and apricot loaf, caramelised garlic bread and that mystery bread with salt flakes on the crust — I don’t know what you were, but you were so, so good with the Alp Sbrinz!
Thank you Red Cow for bringing us delicious cheeses to try, and as one whose life fairly revolves around cheese I felt honored to be able to try the Jersey Blue, not normally available in Australia. My other favourites were the Gruyère and another whose name escapes me right now.
Lovely German ciders from Ciderhouse topped it off with lovely people, and of course the wonderful Unilocal crew bringing it all together! It was nice to get (perhaps a little too) cosy with you in from the cold and surrounded by warm bready smells.

The answer to the age old question «how much cheese can one person eat»? — Half his body weight. At least that’s how I felt by the end out the night.
Cheese, bread and wonderful German wines was what the night was all about and boy they were damn good.
As per usual, the venue staff were extremely friendly, knowledgable and passionate about their products. And so they should be as they were outstanding.
Thanks Mel and all the staff who made for yet another great Unilocal elite night.

When the invite arrived and I had a look at what/​who we could expect on the night; I have to say that I was quite excited about this event. I mean — Brasserie Bread, Ciderhaus and Red Cow Cheese — that’s a great combo! Besides, Unilocal events rarely disappoint anyway and A Taste of Europe surely upheld this tradition.
Cheese, bread, more cheese, more bread, some more cheese and what? More bread? Up until last night, I’d never been that into cheese or that fussed about it. I mean I love cheese but I’d never go as far as say order a cheese platter for dessert. Actually, to tell you the truth I still wouldn’t but that’s because I love dessert so much (it’s my kryptonite!). Anyway, last night was a stimulating reminder of how good cheese. The fondue was definitely the winner (a bubbling goodness in a pot…), followed closely by the blue cheese. The garlic bread — Wow!
You combine all this cheesy/​doughy goodness w/​some amazing german apple wine and cider; and you have an epic night.
Finally, in line with previous elite events (and we wouldn’t have it any other way…), the crowd was top notch. To those Unilocalers who had their Unilocal-​elite-​event-​cherry popped last night, I hope you had fun. To other fellow Unilocalers, it was great to catch up with you guys.
Mel, thanks for organising another wonderful night and for having us!

A Taste of Europe– what a fabulous Elite Event, my first in Melbourne and a great way to kick off my re emergence as an Elite Unilocaler. Who ever thought it was time to have a bread, cheese and wine event was right on the money! So kudos to you mystery person who is most likely our gorgeous, humble CM Mel!
Brasserie Bread as a venue was a delight! A wholesale bakery turns itself into one very quirky, cute little night spot come night fall, who would have figured?! More importantly, what a quality business! I don’t think I have ever eaten that much bread in my life and been so impressed with every single bite in my life! I’m blown away! The Caramelised Garlic bread and the Date & Apricot Bread have won my heart and if I don’t have it, tantrums will be thrown! A big thank you to Brasserie Bread for hosting us and for producing such incredible products!
I’m going to be honest, the cheese blew my mind! I enjoyed reading all the place cards and learning how the different ages of cheese affected their flavours and I much enjoyed studying all the different skins. The whole experience was a pleasure. The taste of the cheese was a separate adventure in itself. What spectacular quality! We were all very lucky to be spoiled in such a dairy-​Licious way last night (lol, I had to!)
Cider Haus, as I was the designated driver I didn’t get to sample as much as I wanted to but from what I did have– which included that wonderful cocktail upon arrival with the Hibiscus flower, I can genuinely say, Cider Haus has a new customer in me. The Cider in particular had a clean & fresh flavour that appealed very much.
All in all, the event was of absolute top quality! It was an ideal event for socialising and networking, I believe a lot of people went home with new friends! A big thank you to Mel and the team for all of their effort and hard word! I personally had a lovely evening meeting you all and getting familiar with the three businesses.

I mean, when you can pour your own wine, carve your own cheese, dip endless hunks of artisan bread into the kirsch laced fondue and finish it off with some perfectly grilled cheese on sour dough you really have reached Unilocal heaven.
So while everyone else is sitting at home on a Tuesday night the hard working Elite were rewarded for their insightful reviews, conscientious check ins and food porn photos with a truly wonderful combination of Brasserie bread, Red Cow Cheese and Ciderhouse beverages.
The room was a buzz with old and new elites all thoroughly enjoying every mouthful. Self service events are truly the way to happiness. As is any event at Brasserie Bread, the ultimate Unilocal venue.
Thanks for a great night Mel P and congrats to Kevin S for winning… again! ;0)

Brasserie Bread brought the lucky folk from Unilocalville into EuroVision, with less tacky outfits and much more tasty bread and cheese.
One could not simply walk past the caramelised garlic bread. Without doing a swanky French swipe into the handbag.
Brasserie Bread brought out the big dough with a bread to tickle even the most fussiest bread heads desire. From sour cherry to a sensual sour dough there was no where to hide from you inner carb lover.
An efficient and sternly welcoming German apple cider from Ciderhaus, held our hands through Swiss cheese territory.
Not one person shied away with fear from the fondue of friendliness. Some even went a step beyond and triple cheeses before dipping away.
With fine apple wine, Swiss cheese and bread from the heavens a pleasurable evening was executed with style and cheeses goodness.

Cheese is one of my favourite foods, especially when combined with a vast slection of artisan breads. At this Unilocal Elite Event both were in ample supply. The soft blue was particularly amazing, particularly when combined with bread containing just a hint of garlic.
Bread soaked in fondue was a brilliant touch and I happily went back for seconds and thirds. I dont think I have ever sampled so many different cheeses and breads in a single session. It was a very cheesey affair (in a good way) and an excellent opportunity to catch up with fellow Unilocalers!
It’s 6.30am the morning after, now to gym to work it off. I will be back for some artisan bread though. A great event!