My time was very limited at Green Olive, as I was passing through on my way to an epic lunch with Thanh. Follow Green Olive’s sign from the main road, down the drive, and you’ll be amazed with the gorgeous view. Keep driving and you’ll soon reach the farm shop, and cafe area.

Another gorgeous piece of architecture in the midst of a vineyard and olive plantation.

Green Olive started in 2002 as a gourmet hamper company. Not that long ago, Greg and his wife opened the farm shop on the property; selling top quality olive oils, chutneys, and wine.

The idea behind Green Olive at Red Hill is to grow as much on the property as possible, helping to reduce the carbon footprint. The menu is evident of this, taking food back to the simple pleasures in life; made with locally grown and top notch ingredients.

They grow 4 types of olives, grapes, herbs, and vegetables. They also raise sheep, chooks and fish. They also roast and grind their own coffee beans, bake their own bread and manufacture their own meat products, to provide a real paddock to plate
The bread is made on site, they stone mill the sour dough bread; and bake it in the wood fired oven.  The sourdough uses a 13 year old preferment, which they call Cedric, and was scented with this year’s basil pollen.

The lamb is taken from the farm, to the abattoir, then the butchered back at Green Olive. From there it becomes a whole range of delicious products:

Lambchetto – lamb belly processed with the same process as pancetta hung for 4 weeks then smoked.
Sugar cured lamb back straps – Marinated in salt and sugar for 6-8 hours then dry hung for 48 hrs
Spice cottechino – spicy lamb cottechino style lamb sausage dry hung for 2-3 weeks then olive leaf smoked
Lamb and garden herb sausages – dry hung for 10 days (herbs vary depending what is available in garden)
Lamb and garden herb meatballs (herbs vary depending what is available in garden) All the lamb is organically grown on the farm and only herbs from the garden and spices added.
No preservatives are used, and only natural skins for the sausages.  The sausages are seasoned with herbs from the garden. You MUST MUST MUST try the sugar cured lamb back straps…. you MUST!!

Green Olive at Red Hill is open:

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday: 10am – 5pm
Saturday, Sunday & Public Holidays: 9am – 5pm
Extended hours over summer
Head down for breakfast, lunch, a snack, or check out the gourmet produce you can take home to enjoy. If you can’t get down there (which really you should, cos it’s a lovely day out!) you can visit the shop online at www.greenolive.com.au

Also on the website, their breakfast and lunch menu; so you can plan what you want to feast on before you get there. Keep up to date with Green Olive at Red Hill via their Facebook page.
Iron Chef Shellie visited Green Olive at Red Hill thanks to Q Strategies, Mornington Peninsula Tourism and Green Olive.