About Us
It all starts at the barn doors
Do you like them? Welcome. Come inside. For within these walls, good food is more than something we serve up on a plate. It’s a way of life. Nestled amidst the hustle and bustle of the Melbourne CBD, The Grain Store is a throwback to the days when many buildings in the area were used as holding stores for shipments – oftentimes, grain – coming off the Yarra River.
Our Philosophy
But our love of heritage extends beyond history or geography. More importantly, you’ll soon discover our passion for food that is equally rich in tradition, inspired by Mother Nature herself, and lovingly prepared.
Our fruit and vegetables are grown and harvested locally in an environmentally sensitive way, without the use of chemicals, so you get only the freshest seasonal produce, cooked in ways that best bring out its natural flavours.
We serve food the way it was meant to be enjoyed – nutritious, healthy, and always delicious. We don’t use many additives, because we don’t need to. When our ingredients taste this good all on their own, why tamper with them?
Combining his fondness for rustic, traditional European fare with modern techniques honed from years of training in some of the best fine dining restaurants, head chef Ingo Meissner seeks to take you on a culinary adventure that will excite, surprise and delight you.
As skillful as he is principled, he is passionate about delivering beautiful food, but he also wants to make that food more accessible to people. That is why here at The Grain Store, customer interaction (and satisfaction) is our number one priority.
So come, join us as we embark on this beautiful journey together, and let us serve you. Experience The Grain Store for yourself, and taste the difference.
Chef Ingo Meissner
Born in Germany in the 1970s, Ingo Meissner discovered his culinary calling early in life, as a teenager, and has since devoted himself to learning and developing his craft. An intrepid traveller, he’s lived and worked in his native country, as well as Switzerland, England, Canada and Bermuda.
His globetrotting eventually brought him to Australia, where, after years of working in major establishments including the Sydney Hilton and Melbourne’s Crown Casino, he decided to try something different. Or as he puts it, “Working in large corporations just wasn’t me.”
Certainly, his travels have played a huge part in his career, injecting the influences of different cuisines and cultures into his cooking, but more importantly, they have also opened him up to other perspectives and broadened his understanding towards food.
Trained in traditional French and Mediterranean cooking, Ingo constantly seeks to marry the skills he’s spent years perfecting with his passion for fine, fresh produce – honest cooking, as he likes to call it.
Along the way, he also hopes to educate people about the seasonal nature of produce, change misconceptions about certain foods, and do his part for the environment by reducing the food miles of his ingredients.
A man of few words, he prefers to let his cooking do the talking. Fortunately, it speaks volumes.
