Denmark, in the Great Southern Region of Western Australia, is well represented in the cheese and chocolate department.
Whitfield Estate, with its Picnic in the Paddock cafe, offers a range of gourmet delights. These include their wines, Pawprint Chocolate range and their Dellendale Creamery cheeses. They also have marron available in the cafe or you can pre-order fresh marron to take away. We were too early for lunch but didn’t leave empty-handed. The cheese is sensational.
The cheese maker learnt his craft in the Swiss Alps and the lovely Swiss style cheese reflects this experience. We left with the Mt Lindesay, which has been washed in olive oil, the Churchill Washed Rind and the Triple Cream Brie. You can buy their cheeses at the Boatshed Market in Cottesloe or via mail order.
The Denmark Farmhouse specialises in cheese, fudge, preserves and ice cream but we were there for the cheese. They have a stunning range of both soft and hard cheeses, with many available for tasting.
What I loved about this place is that they also had a fantastic range of sliced meats, water crackers and other antipasto items so it is very easy to put together a picnic or something to serve with the great wines of the region. A one-stop shop so to speak. Denmark Farmhouse products are not available for purchase in Perth but you can order their products by mail should you wish to try them for yourself.
According to The Princess and Mr Grumpy, the hot chocolate at The Denmark Chocolate Company is pretty good. It must be; we went back more than once. Buttons of chocolate (in their case the 70% Venezuelan single origin beans) are stirred into the hot milk to produce a smooth drink. I opted for the truffles to accompany my cup of tea, with the range making selection difficult. The Denmark Chocolate Factory is licensed so you can enjoy local wines, an eclectic range of imported beers or liqueurs if hot chocolate is not your thing.
In the centre of town is Dark Side Chocolates. Their tagline – Be tempted by the dark side. How can you resist. These chocolates are brilliant. Flavours range from the classic Fresh Mint Truffle to the outrageous Blue Cheese Truffle and everything in between. We couldn’t choose so bought a selection box to try a few different flavours. Dark Side Chocolates are also at the Albany Boatshed Markets on Sunday mornings if you’re in the area but can’t make it to Denmark. Failing that, you can always mail order your selection.
As everybody knows, the perfect accompaniment to chocolate and cheese is fruit. Eden Gate Blueberry Farm offers punnets of blueberries for sale, as well as jams, sauces, ice cream and muffins. If you are feeling adventurous you can pick your own blueberries. We opted for the pick your own option and in 10 minutes had a large punnet of berries to take home. Pity we had already eaten the chocolate.
And so ended our Denmark sojourn. A quick word on our accommodation. Kangaroo Valley Cottage is a fully self-contained cottage just outside Denmark. It was very peaceful but only five minutes from the centre of town. It is located right next to the Denmark Berry Farm so you can walk around for ice cream. The cottage overlooks a lovely valley, and yes there were kangaroos (and donkeys).
We didn’t sample any wine this trip. Not the sort of thing that is easy to do with The Princess in tow. Next time.
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