The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival Events You Should Be Booking Tickets for ASAP
A boozy, multi-sensory trivia night, a vegetarian feast in a winery and a free out-of-town party are some of the standout events on this year's lineup.
The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival Events You Should Be Booking Tickets for ASAP
A boozy, multi-sensory trivia night, a vegetarian feast in a winery and a free out-of-town party are some of the standout events on this year's lineup.
There are just a few months left before our city's culinary obsession switches to overdrive and we're gripped hard by Melbourne Food And Wine Festival fever. And this year's program promises as hearty a celebration as ever, with a star-studded lineup of culinary legends and a heady offering of feasts, masterclasses, pop-ups and parties. From a locally focused meat-free feast in a winery to a dinner showcasing Quebec's finest, here are our top picks for MFWF 2019.
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Whether you’re keen to sharpen your own culinary skills, or just rub shoulders with a few of your idols, MFWF’s House of Food and Wine hub is a must. It’s set to whip the Malthouse Theatre into a frenzy of feasts, masterclasses, talks and parties, and a day pass is your all-access ticket to enjoying the best it has to offer. Those venturing in on Day 1 (Saturday, March 9) will catch the likes of Dan Hong (Sydney’s Mr Wong, Ms G’s) and Jowett Yu (Ho Lee Fook, Hong Kong) in a chef-to-chef onstage chat for the Theatre of Ideas. The series also features insights from Lune Croissanterie‘s Kate Reid, and a panel discussion on the future of women in food, led by Fully Booked Women’s Sharlee Gibb and Maria Kabal of Añada. Culinary tips and tricks will be flying as names like Momofuku Seiobo‘s Paul Carmichael and dessert queen Kirsten Tibballs whip up their signature dishes during a series of masterclasses. And you’ll find a mix of old favourites and one-off creations being plated up by the day’s food truck ensemble — a star cast that includes Mamasita, Belles Hot Chicken and Sundae School Ice Creamery, as well as Morgan McGlone and Christian Robertson’s low-waste-focused, natural wine-slinging pop-up bar, The Kyoto Protocol.
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There’s nothing quite like a Saturday spent quaffing top-notch wine and gorging on cheese. Throw the spotlight on local produce and you’ve got something even better. As part of this year’s MFWF, the locally focused Wine and Cheese Fest takes over Williamstown’s Seaworks for one gooey, cheesy day by the bay, celebrating some of the state’s finest cheese, wine and artisan goodies. Chat to producers as you indulge in a parade of free tastings, sit in on a couple of cheese masterclasses or even hone your squishing skills in the day’s grape stomping competition. And there’ll be DJ sets and live jazz providing the soundtrack to your epicurean adventures. Up for some extra indulgence? Splash out on a VIP ticket to score your fill of free-flowing local wine and cheese platters.
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If you’re equal parts foodie and trivia nut, consider this MFWF event your true calling. With wine writer Max Allen and food writer Richard Cornish as the night’s savvy hosts, teams will engage in a battle of culinary smarts, through an interactive, multi-sensory quiz. Feast on an offering of specialty libations and tasty snacks, as you and your crew work through a side-splitting series of questions, challenges and memory testers. Expect surprise appearances from some special guests and a swag of giveaways throughout the night, including a primo meat tray that’ll guarantee your status as a barbecue master. Start hitting those cookbook and don’t forget to bring your A-game — the champion team will be heading home with the coveted Golden Tongue Award. Tickets are available for individuals and groups of four or six.
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Two-and-a-half hour’s drive north of the city, Echuca’s American Hotel will really be living up to its name when it hosts this free MFWF event loaded with Deep Southern charm. It’s throwing open the doors and firing up the smokers for a good ol’ car park party that’s set to kick on all-day long. You’ll find yourself chowing down on a menu of US-style barbecue fare, enjoyed outdoors on big communal tables. The bar boasts a famously great rotation of craft brews all year round, but for this meaty occasion it’ll also be whipping up a range of sips made with small-batch bourbon — yep, you’re in for the ultimate comfort food feast. The soundtrack’s set to be a banger, too, with live R&B acts and DJ-spun vinyl tunes sprinkled throughout the day.
Image: American Hotel by Emily Godfrey for Visit Victoria.
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You won’t be left wanting for anything after digging into this lavish, meat-free feast, held against the idyllic backdrop of thhe Yarra Valley’s Rob Dolan Wines and The Farm. Get set for a sumptuous five-course spread that not only champions the humble veg, but flies the flag for locality. In fact, almost every ingredient on the menu was grown right there on the property, showcasing goodies plucked straight from both kitchen garden and vineyard, matched, of course, to a few of the Rob Dolan wines crafted onsite. The only thing that’s travelled further is the cheese, though even the fiercest locavores are sure to approve — it’s made and matured just a few hops away at the Stone and Crow Cheese Company. For full effect, be sure to indulge in a post-lunch jaunt through the vineyards, to see where that food all began.
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Keen to sample the dazzling creativity of Montreal’s food scene, without forking out for that overseas flight? This year’s MFWF puts you up close and personal with some of the city’s most exciting culinary talent, pulling together a star crew for one heck of a candle-lit dinner. Five chefs and sommeliers from legendary restaurants Joe Beef and Maison Publique will descend on the Malthouse Theatre to deliver an ultra-indulgent banquet you’re not going to forget in a hurry. Some of the names who’ll be pouring your wines and firing your food include Joe Beef’s executive chef Marc-Olivier Frappier and its two co-founders, David McMilla and Frédéric Morin, and Maison Publique co-owner Derek Dammann. Capturing the bold, innovative spirit that’s put these Quebec spots on the map, they’ll plate up a lavish three-course shared menu, the dishes carefully matched to standout wines and punctuated with a few extra snacks for good measure.
Image: David McMillan, Joe Beef.
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Mandala Wines’ rolling green Yarra Valley property promises a cracker of a setting for this Italian-style, al fresco feast. The winery’s DiVino Ristorante will be working its magic to transform a haul of super local produce into a sumptuous three-course lunch, enjoyed with a side of vineyard views from the lush gardens. Starring alongside a lineup of the estate’s own celebrated wines, the food menu features only ingredients sourced from within one kilometre of the restaurant. Pull up a sunny patch of turf and tuck into house-made cold cuts matched to blanc de blancs, and succulent porchetta off the spit-roast, teamed with pinot noir poured straight from the barrel. You’ll finish in true Italian style, downing goat’s cheese panna cotta and limoncello in the sunshine. Bring the whole gang — this one’s a family-friendly affair, with ample room for running wild.
Image: Mandala Wines, Visit Victoria.
Top image: Melbourne Food and Wine Festival 2018.
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