Anthony Femia from Prahran Market’s Maker & Monger is recognised locally and abroad as one of Australia’s leading cheesemongers – so when he launches what he regards as his crowning glory toasted cheese sandwich – people take notice.
From this Saturday, November 26, Melburnians will be able to taste a toasted cheese sandwich that has been two years in development and his first new toasted sandwich to be released in three years – The Kimcheese. The creation has been specially developed to have every part of the tongue salivating with hints of sweetness, plenty of umami and moreish notes, and with just the right amount of pumpkin.
“Our slogan is ‘let cheese ignite your senses’ and that’s exactly our plan with this toastie. Made with French raclette, Alpine raw milk Fontina from the north of Italy, white miso & sake glazed pumpkin, wildly addictive kimchi paste, cultured butter and sourdough with the signature crunch of a Maker & Monger toastie,” said owner Anthony Femia. “The cheeses we have chosen have been picked for their incredible melting ability and their strength in lifting the flavour of the ingredients they are cooked with rather than dominating and taking over on the palate.”
Femia has taken inspiration from all the cooking he did over covid using Ottolenghi’s numerous cookbooks. The pumpkin is oven roasted with sake and miso paste to really ramp up the sweet and umami notes that underlines this toastie.
“It has taken 2 years of experimenting to find the right toastie to compliment what we already have. Everything on the menu is like a favourite child and the new addition had to be of the same standard. Our sandwiches are loved by many. In fact, some of our customers are so addicted to our toasties they have eaten more than 1,000 of the same sandwich. The Kimcheese will be the game changing toastie that will make them switch!” said Femia.
Maker & Monger opened in 2015 at Prahran Market as a humble antique French food cart that offered Swiss Raclette over kipflers and the now-famous All American Grilled Cheese Toasted Sandwich. Soon, it came to be known as Australia’s best cheese shop with facilities like a purpose-built maturation room, a 7-metre long climate controlled cheese counter and a kitchen offering – not only its world famous toasties, but a selection of seasonal cheese dishes.
Anthony and his dairy fiend team are living up to their legacy with the Kimcheese, which will be available for $18 at Maker & Monger from Saturday 26th. It will only be for sale on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The first 30 toasties sold on Saturday 26th will be paired with a Normandy Farmhouse cider to give customers the complete indulgent experience; so Melburnians should set their alarms to get their hands-on new benchmark toastie!
Don’t stress if a toastie is not your thing because Maker & Monger are also now offering dine-in cheese board and wine pairings, so you can sit back, relax and enjoy a delicious respite whilst you watch the theatre of the market.