A Family Affair Albert and Maria Palamara and family have been involved in the fresh produce industry for over 50 years and have been servicing the Mt Eliza Community Peninsula for over 18 years with consistent high quality and service.
Albert started out as an Italian migrant worker sponsored by his sister Sarina and her husband in their Glenhuntly fruit shop, it didn t take long for Albert to realise he had the know how to setup his own shop and did so with his brother Joe on Centre Rd in East Bentleigh.
Together they operated their business for 17 years.
Albert recalls It was very different trading in those days, there was custom service where the fruiterer would pick out everything for the customer and we only stocked seasonal produce from Victoria with the exception of bananas and some tropical fruits.
We would smoke in store while working and so would the customers, we would even light their cigarettes for them The other significant difference was the produce market was held at the Queen Elizabeth Market now known as Queen Victoria Market .
There were no fork lifts or curtain side trucks, everything was hand loaded at market and hand unloaded back at the shop.
Those days were hard During this time Albert and Maria had settled in East Bentleigh and welcomed the arrival of their three children Steve, Richard and Marisa.
After 17 years in East Bentleigh Albert wanted a new challenge and decided to sell up and move on.
He fancied a little beachside town called Mt Eliza.
Albert and Maria moved the family there, took a twelve month break from the industry then opened Albert s Fruit Supply in Seaford next door to Leo s Tuckerbag now Ritchie s IGA .
It didn t take long for the business to take off and Albert employed a couple of fulltime staff along with his sons Steve and Richard who helped after school and on weekends.
Steve especially took a shine to the family business and it was not long before he knew he would follow in his father s footsteps.
At the tender age of 18 Steve noticed an old rundown fruit shop in Mt Eliza for sale.
He convinced Albert and Maria to go and have a look, and Albert purchased it and opened MT ELIZA VILLAGE FRUITS Albert knew it was going to be hard work running both shops but with Steve s enthusiasm and willingness to do the job along with Maria, Richard and Marisa who all dedicated every spare moment they had to running the new shop, the business thrived in Mt Eliza with potential to grow even more.
Albert realised that the Mt Eliza Village Fruit shop was where he wanted to focus his skill and passion for the industry.
He sold the shop in Seaford and joined the rest of the family in Mt Eliza Village Fruits where they all put their heart and soul into growing the business.
It was not long before Albert employed a few more staff to keep up with the growing demand of loyal customers shopping everyday.
86 GoodLife -Spring 2012...
august, september, october.
This shop was small and bursting out onto the street with displays of produce, flowers, plants and buckets of oranges.
Albert s second son Richard completed his double degree in accounting and joined the business in a full time capacity, and at that time Mt Eliza Village Fruits employed a staff of fifteen.
Change was on the horizon again as Steve grew older and wanted another challenge, so it was decided that he would learn the ropes from Albert to go and do all the fresh produce purchasing at Melbourne Markets.
Richard took charge of the daily shop duties, Marisa commenced fulltime as secretary and bookkeeper, and Albert and Maria took a step back to enjoy some well earned holidays and time off.
The business was a success and the next stage of growth would come with the introduction of Palamara Produce as the wholesale part of the business supplying local cafe s, restaurants, schools, nursing homes, supermarkets and other fruit shops.
As opportunities of growth kept arising, the one that cemented Mt Eliza Village Fruits as a pillar of the community was the move into the store they currently operate from.
Steve and Richard started with an empty store and built much of the shelving.
But a lot has changed in this shop since the move, the full shop renovation that was completed at the end of 2011 and of course the shop is busier, additional product lines have been added to compliment the fresh produce, a juice bar was erected in the shop, the only Juice Bar in Mt Eliza, and the business now employs 30 staff members.
Steve is now managing the business.
Richard has moved on to pursue a career he had dreamt about for a long time, Marisa is still the secretary on a part time basis and Joe Marisa s husband has joined the business to help manage the shop.
Albert still works four mornings a week and has not lost his passion for the industry, and you will still see Maria shopping in the Village and excited to say hello to the same people she has seen for 18 years in Mt Eliza What is Gelato And What s the Difference Gelato is simply Italian style ice cream.
It can be dairy based or non-dairy which is known as sorbet .It differs from normal ice cream in three main ways, Gelato has less fat, up to 75 less in fact.
Sorbet has zero fat, but it maintains its creaminess by adding extra fruit and less water.
Gelato has less air mixed in during production making it more dense and creamier and it is served at a slightly warmer temperature, between -10C to -12C, giving it a softer texture.
Why is it artisan gelato Artisan simply means hand made, which is what they do at TuttiFrutti using locally sourced fresh fruit and produce whenever it s seasonally available.
They don t add any preservatives as it is made to meet their customer s needs, not for long-term storage.
Most of their over 45 flavours are gluten egg free, and TuttiFrutti are constantly working on developing new flavours.
Keep an eye out for their new Cookie dough gelato, you would never guess it s gluten egg free TUTTIFRUTTI is the Peninsula's original gelato store - open in Mornington for almost 10 yrs and supplying beautiful handmade Italian style gelato.
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At TuttiFrutti you can also order custom made gelato cakes for any occasion beautiful examples on their Facebook page and they have new Petite Cones mini waffle cones with french vanilla gelato, covered with milk chocolate or strawberry or lemon coating - perfect for a mini treat or even as a dessert for a dinner party - and these can be custom made to order also.
There is much excitement now the new chocolate gelato machine has finally arrived from Italy, after a 3 month wait, so the beautiful rich chocolate gelato which Tuttifrutti is famous for is back Tutti Frutti - 5 Blake Street, Mornington 086.indd 1 20 08 12 8 37 PM