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Melbourne's top 10 essential winter food experiences

Jane Ormond

Smokin' hot: Mork Chocolate's Campfire hot chocolate.
Smokin' hot: Mork Chocolate's Campfire hot chocolate.Kristoffer Paulsen

Winter has landed, boots and all, making us all want to hibernate until the leaves come back. But a tastier option is to embrace the chill and all the traditions of winter dining. Here are some delicious experiences that will turn your shivers into a shimmy.

1. The ultimate hot chocolate

Winter leads even the most hardened coffee drinker to default to a creamy hot chocolate. To take it to the next level, head to Mork Chocolate Brew House in North Melbourne, a relaxed and minimal space, and order the Campfire Hot Chocolate. You'll get an upended glass of beechwood smoke, a few flakes of smoked black salt, a toasted house-made marshmallow on a stick, and a jug of the creamiest hot chocolate. Turn the glass over, pour in the chocolate, watching the smoke billow volcanically, then stir in the marshmallow until it melts and top with the salt. It's a deliciously atmospheric thing.

Mork Chocolate Brew House, 150 Errol Street, North Melbourne

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2. Get by the fire

Not many one-bedroom flats come with their own open fireplace, so head out and cosy up with a toasty meal by the fire. Fitzroy's Union Club Hotel nails that vibe in its main lounge, with sink-in couches and a menu of good-quality pub grub, such as bangers and mash with gravy and an excellent eggplant parma. For heat in and out, nab a spot next to the fire at Radio Mexico and warm your insides with chicken mole with poblano peppers.

Union Club Hotel, 164 Gore Street, Fitzroy

Radio Mexico, 11-13 Carlisle Street, St Kilda

3. Winter markets

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There's no better front seat to the seasons than at your local farmer's market. Not only is winter truffle season, it's also a bounty of roasty, toasty vegetables like pumpkin, potatoes and brussels sprouts, gorgeous chestnuts, apples, pears, persimmons and vitamin C-packed citrus. Start your browsing with a Mexican hot chocolate from Black Leather Creek Farm in hand, and load up on winter's best for pies, roasts and crumbles.

See vicfarmersmarkets.org.au for dates and locations

4. Fondue and gluhwein

So that chalet in the Alps fell through? Never mind, you can drown your sorrows in cheese fondue and gluhwein at Milk the Cow. Start with a warming glass of spice-spiked mulled wine, then bask in the candle glow of your own pretty pot of this fromagerie's rich and smooth signature cheese fondue, served with torn bread for dipping. There's even an alpine accordion player for added scene setting.

Milk the Cow, 157 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda and 323 Lygon Street, Carlton

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5. Super soups

Soup is the ultimate winter staple. Save your gazpacho for the warmer months and go no-holds-barred hearty with a bowl of Hungarian goulash soup, chunky with beef and vegetables, at Budapest in Elsternwick or get a homely bowl of "Jewish penicillin" – chicken and matzo ball soup – at The Little Hungarian in South Caulfield or Eshel Fine Kosher Catering in Ripponlea.

Budapest, 273 Glen Huntly Road, Elsternwick

The Little Hungarian, 708 Glen Huntly Road, Caulfield South

Eshel Fine Kosher Catering, 57-59 Glen Eira Road, Ripponlea

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6. Whiskey warmers

Nothing warms the cockles quicker than a hot toddy, so if whiskey is your hot-water bottle, head to Bad Frankie. It's got a cosily collaged interior, expert bar staff and a drinks list that showcases Australian-only spirits. For the ultimate in winter whiskey-ry, order the Sunday Roast Old Fashioned – lamb-washed Gun Alley Sour Mash whiskey stirred through with a mint-jelly reduction and a hint of rosemary. Team it with a slow-braised lamb and gravy jaffle for 360-degree toastiness.

Bad Frankie, 141 Greeves Street, Fitzroy

7. Take it to the beach

It might sound contradictory to suggest heading to the beach when it's brass-monkey weather, but there's a certain charm to eating steaming hot takeaways from the warmth of your car while you watch the grey waves crashing. For the perfect pie, head to the backstreets of Newport and seek out the adorable Ellie's Kitchen Foodstore, the latest venture from the Vassiliou sisters who ran St Kilda's much-loved Benedict Cafe. Pick up a couple of buttery seasonal pies – beef ragout, chicken and leek – made from the best of the local farmers' market, and make for the nearby bay.

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Ellie's Kitchen Foodstore, 43 Hall Street, Newport

8. The classic roast

Sticky roast potatoes, jugs of steaming gravy – a winter roast is a beautiful thing. Middle Park Hotel offers a winter weekend rare-breed roast, showcasing Victoria's prime produce – such as Gippsland lamb and Galloway beef – amid their cosy dark-wood and red-carpeted pub. They also do a mean line in comforting English desserts, such as bread-and-butter pudding and treacle tarts.

Middle Park Hotel, 102 Canterbury Road, Middle Park

9. Comfort puddings

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Speaking of puddings, winter is the get-out-of-jail-free season when it comes to tucking into indulgent old-school desserts. Take a seat in the intimate, low-lit, art-clad confines of Cicciolina and order the light but rich sticky-date pudding with butterscotch sauce. It breaks apart like soft cake, releasing wafts of that sweet, dark aroma.

Cicciolina, 130 Acland Street, St Kilda

10. Make it yourself

Want to be one of those people who effortlessly brings a photogenically steaming winter dish to the table? Sign up for classes such as the CAE's "Low and Slow: Winter Taste Sensations" class, where you'll learn how to make dishes such as red wine-braised lamb shanks. For something sweeter and spicier, enrol in a German Market Treats class at Gewurzhaus, where you'll learn to make traditional German gingerbread, gluhwein and apfelstrudel.

CAE, 253 Flinders Lane, Melbourne

Gewurzhaus Spice Kitchen, 543 Malvern Road, Toorak

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