We adore the wonderful Italian cheeses from That’s Amore. Luxuriant burrata. Plump bocconcini. Its creamy ricotta and mascarpone are my go-to cheeses for cakes and desserts, making a tangy ciambellone (lemon and ricotta ring cake) or Nigella’s mascarpone-rich Anglo-Italian trifle (a regular request for our family Christmases).
Various stockists around Melbourne carry the cheese, but the whole experience at That’s Amore’s Thomastown factory shop, covering the entire product range, offers so much more for cheese fans. All the cheeses are made on-site, using traditional Italian techniques. No preservatives, no artificial colours and all based on fresh milk.
You can’t miss the factory – it’s next to the M80 Ring Road, near the Dalton Road exit. The one painted with a huge Friesian cow.
We generally time our visits to grab a meal at the very popular café, before stocking up on our cheese needs.
We’ve enjoyed some great lunches at That’s Amore. Light as a feather gnocchi. Abruzzese-style porchetta – Benny’s favourite – made fresh every day. Tasty panini. Generous antipasto platters. Freshly made cannoli, filled of course with That’s Amore ricotta. And, for an all-too-brief time, finishing off with some superb gelati, the product of a master gelato maker.
The gelati was gorgeous. It won gold medals at the Australian Food Awards. Fantastic flavours, beautiful textures, generous serves. The classics – pistachio, chocolate, hazelnut, lemon – were exceptional. One of my favourites was amarena, with a super lavish swirl of sour cherries.
And so it was a shock when we turned up at That’s Amore to find that the gelato cabinet had disappeared. We were devastated.
As gelati is now off the menu, we’re not giving a score. Will we be returning to That’s Amore, without gelati? Absolutely. The great Italian food at the café and the huge range of beautiful cheeses at the deli is more than enough to draw us back.
That’s Amore
66 Latitude Boulevard
Thomastown Vic 3074
T: (03) 9463 4200
W: www.thatsamorecheese.com.au