Cheese & Bread

Peanut butter and jelly, peanut butter and banana, chocolate and peanut butter (anything and peanut butter really). Some ideas are so outlandish and obvious, lateral but simple at the same time that it takes a visionary (or two) to put the pieces together. The latest in this long line of light bulb moments has wed several unlikely elements in a way that's left the whole of Melbourne scratching their heads and wondering how they didn't think of it first.

It's called Cheese & Bread at 518 High St, Preston, a drive-through, specialty toastie cafe based in a repurposed shipping container, and the latest venture from Dean Trpeski (Elite Event Catering) and Frank Rusitovski (Event Catering Solutions).

"We had a container on hand and just thought 'Why not? Let's create a breakfast solution for busy morning commuters with food we love to eat.'"

"Our philosophy is pretty simple; nothing works better than cheese and bread," says Marketing Manager Sally McBryde. "We wanted to bring Melbourne cheese lovers a unique foodie experience by creating toasted sandwich recipes that were a bit crazy and that your mother never dared to dish out."

There were a few other concepts floating between the two in the early stages, but as the establishers of Australian Mobile Food Vendors Group they wanted something new — something that mixed the best of both the food truck and cafe model.

"Cheese & Bread was a bit of a light bulb moment for Frank and Dean. Wanting to create gourmet toasties that flip home-cooked comfort food on its head we set out to craft a menu that is undeniably tasty and at times controversial. We had a container on hand and just thought 'Why not? Let's create a breakfast solution for busy morning commuters with food we love to eat.'"

"It's larger than a food truck," says McBryde, the upshot being that you can drive by snag a gourmet toastie on the way to work without ever stepping out in the current chill. You can run in and grab something waiting for the tram, or you can sit in and watch the morning traffic. But it's also not landlocked, and if the guys want to pick up bricks and "spread the cheese" at another location the option is always there. "It's unique to the area and Melbourne."

The idea originally was to open between 6 — 11.30am during the week, but less than a fortnight in and public opinion is that's not nearly enough toastie time. "[It's had] great feedback and response so far," agrees McBryde. "We're expanding to weekends and looking into vegan cheese and gluten free bread!"

Currently there are six options available, named after partnerships that go together like, well, cheese and bread. There's the true back-to-basics classic, Tom & Jerry, the straight house cheese blend. There's the Bert & Ernie, which builds on that with roast beef, caramelised onions and spinach. Or the Batman & Robin, which brings an American Wagyu patty and crispy beef strip into the mix.

So what's next? The Sherlock & Watson? Bogart & Bacall?

"Mmmmm, we want to keep a lot of those top secret right now," says McBryde, though she adds that "customer suggestions and toastie of the month are always great, [and] of course lighter options getting into warmer months".