R.L. Chapman & Sons Pty Ltd (Mark and Steve Chapman) is a 4th generation fruit growing business. Our family has been growing fruit for over 100 years – surely testament to sustainable farming! We are referred to as Chappies, and farm 50 hectares at Silvan in the beautiful Yarra Valley (in the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges of Victoria), a one hour drive from the centre of Melbourne. We have been operating our U-Pick (pick your own) business for berries since 1970 when our father Gordon introduced the u-pick concept to Australia after a visit to the USA. A fantastic day out for the family where everyone can pitch in and pick some fruit, have a taste and better understand where those lovely fruits come from. If you don’t want to pick, you are welcome to come to the farm and buy our freshly picked fruit Buy Fresh.

Gateways U-pick strawberries are all grown indoors out of the cold and rain, so there’s no need to put on your gumboots and old farm clothes to pick them. Our Strawberries are grown using minimal sprays and chemicals, we actually buy good bugs to control the bad ones, doing this helps us to maintain a healthy balanced environment. The freshest, tastiest strawberries are the ones you pick yourself, come along and taste the difference. The Yarra Valley is blessed with an abundance of high quality produce. Drawing on growers in our immediate area, Gateway are able the offer the best local berries, apples, stonefruit , vegetables and fresh produce (in season). The shelves of the Gateway Gourmet Farmgate store are constantly changing and evolving. Seasonal visits will present the visitor with an ever changing palette of the best the Yarra Valley has to offer. Gateway run a small herd primarily of Angus cattle and provide their own aged beef at the farm gate.  All Gateway Beef is grass-fed and free of any hormones or growth stimulants.  Gateway’s free-range beef is dry aged for around 2 weeks prior to cutting, and then cryovaced which provides the opportunity for a further 4 weeks […]

The Yarra Valley Regional Food Group Farmer’s Market is held at Yering Station on the third Sunday of every month. In line with the world’s fastest growing food trend for seasonal fresh produce the inaugural Yarra Valley Regional Farmers Market was held in March 1998. The concept has been an outstanding success for regional producers, for local consumers and for visitors, many of whom come to the Yarra Valley specifically to check out the region’s growing reputation for exceptional and exciting food and wine. The market is a lively place with food tastings, lots of chatter, tantalising aromas and a visual feast of foods, flowers and flavours. In addition to an extensive selection of fresh seasonal fruit and vegetables you will find among the stalls mouth-watering biscuits, fresh-ground coffee and beans, unusual jams, preserves and sauces, honey, buffalo sausages, delectable chocolates, ice-cream, fruit vinegars, home-made pasta, locally baked bread, free-range eggs, a fantastic range of lavender products from hand-creams and bodysprays to furniture wax … and, as they say … much, much more! Today it is Victoria’s longest running monthly market which gives you the chance to buy direct from the grower, producer or maker, and, importantly, that it doesn’t […]

Alchemy cafe is a fresh new venue situated in the picturesque Yarra Valley. We pride ourselves on using ethically farmed proteins and only the finest of local produce grown right here in the Yarra. Our menu is designed by head chef Ben Ledingham who prides himself on his creative approach. Ben uses only the best ingredients and aims to provide an innovative and unique environment for our guests. Looking for something healthy and delicious for lunch? Come in and try our Sushi! Made fresh every day by our amazing sushi chefs! Our coffee is roasted by the awesome guys at Atomica Coffee. With a beautiful full bodied flavour we can assure you our coffee will not disappoint! Come in and try some. Having a function or event that our amazing chefs can help you with? We would love to be involved! We are constantly evolving, moving forward and doing crazy and wonderful things at Alchemy Yarra Valley. The store will always be full of beautiful products that we have sourced, tried, tested and loved as we live by the “from a our family to yours” approach. Make sure you pop into the shop to say hi.