Overview
We hope you've recovered adequately from Christmas lunch — because you've got less than two months to prepare yourself for the annual celebration of wining and dining that is the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival. It's back with a blockbuster program of culinary goodness in tow, descending on Melbourne from Friday, March 24–Sunday, April 2.
There's something in the lineup for every palate, with events big and small, and guest chefs flying in from all corners of the globe. As the festival's new hub, Federation Square will be heating up to host a good portion of the action, including a pop-up bar pairing Tom Sarafian snacks with standout sips from the city's top cocktail shakers, plus a celebrity sausage sizzle plating up snag-based creations from the likes of Christian Petracca, Chrissie Swan and Rhys Nicholson.
Plus, catch a carb-tastic lineup of favourites plating up their finest baked goods for Baker's Dozen — a two-day openair market slinging treats from Lune, All Are Welcome, Baker Bleu, Bread Club, Monforte, Tarts Anon, Totti's and more.
Moonhouse
Jeremy Chan, of London's Michelin-starred Ikoyi, will be dropping by Vue de Monde to treat locals to a taste of his wildly innovative flair by way of a ten-course degustation, while the boundary-pushing wood-fired pizza of Kyoto's Monk will be on full display when Yoshihiro Imai joins Dave Verheul for a collaborative feast at Embla.
The tantalising food in the films of Studio Ghibli will be plucked from the screen and brought to life in a one-off degustation at Robata, Prahran's Maker & Monger is set to host an after-hours cheese and wine fest, and cookbook author Julia Busuttil Nishimura hits Florian Eatery for an Italian feast matched with wines by Giorgio De Maria.
Mission Chinese Food's Danny Bowien
Elsewhere, you'll catch Danny Bowien (of New York's famed Mission Chinese Food) teaming up with Shannon Martinez for a spice-fuelled vegan dinner, the Mornington Peninsula's Tedesca dropping by Cutler & Co, and Sydney's Ante hitting the internationally-hyped Caretaker's Cottage for a Sunday session of stellar snacks and sake.
There's a lunch dedicated to the Korean dish bo ssäm, a wood-fired collaboration from Harley & Rose and the UK's Black Axe Mangal, and a ferment-filled feast courtesy of Anchovy's Thi Le and Pok Pok founder Andy Ricker.
Of course, there'll be plenty of return favourites in the mix, too, including the star-studded offerings of The Convenient Store (a pop-up shop that's part Japanese convenience store, part Brooklyn bodega), and the roving food adventures that are the Crawl and Bite tours.
Yoshihiro Imai, by Yuka Yanazume
The Melbourne Food & Wine Festival returns from Friday, March 24–Sunday, April 2, with events across the city. Pre-sale starts from January 31 for subscribers, with general tickets on sale from February 3.
Top image: Embla.