King & Godfree: The Corner Grocer

In the 1950s when Carlo Valmorbida bought King & Godfree, a grocery store that had only two other owners since opening on the corner of Lygon and Faraday Streets in Carlton in 1871, the newly arrived immigrant from Italy helped drive a culinary revolution in Melbourne by being among the first to introduce non-Italian Melbourne to the delights of parmesan cheese and good olive oil, quality canned tuna and excellent dry table wine. He did this not just by stocking these then-exotic products but by explaining to the wider community who frequented his grocery store why they were so good and how to shop for and cook with them.

Just like King & Godfree itself, King & Godfree: The Corner Grocer honours Carlo’s spirit by detailing how to buy the best Italian cheese, the appropriate canned tomato, the best quality anchovies, which pasta shapes and sauces go best together and what wine to drink with them, then teaming this knowledge with more than 80 recipes, from cocktails to cannoli.

Through stories, recipes and insider knowledge about great ingredients, The Corner Grocer creates an intricate portrait of King & Godfree, one of the oldest, continuously-operating grocery stores in Australia as it negotiated a century-and-a-half of continuous operation just by paying attention to the quality of its food and service and to the evolving appetites of its ever-changing community.

It’s the story of how King & Godfree both reflected the nature of the community around it while simultaneously influencing the way an entire city eats.

Now with more than 150 years under our belt and a renovation that has brought new life to a Melbourne institution, we decided it was a good time to celebrate. The Corner Grocer is an invitation to the party.