After a year hiatus, Melbourne Food & Wine Festival returns like a (slow-cooked, 12-hour brined) phoenix from the ashes with a monumental-sized program spanning from March, right through until spring—first beginning with a series of key events in March, followed by core programing in winter, then, exploring regional Victoria later in the year.
In March, The World’s Longest Lunch will make a very obvious appearance, with culinary legends like Stephanie Alexander, Philippe Mouchel and Jacques Reymond bringing a feast to over 1000 people in Melbourne’s ornate Treasury Gardens. And, for the first time, the city will welcome in the World’s Longest Brunch the day after with Lune Crossaint’s Kate Reid steering the ship alongside Nathan Toleman (ex-Top Paddock, Apte, Liminal).
Like with any MFWF, you can always expect several unexpected events. Coming in at the top end of the program for the first time ever is the Westside Crawl, which deep dives into the untapped culinary delights of Footscray and Sunshine—expect visits to Xuan Banh Cuon and the fermentation-focussed bar Zymurgy.
Further highlights from the special events program include a sensory collaboration with Rain Room and their mates Black Star Pastry, yum cha at Flower Drum and a suckling feast courtesy of La Luna’s Adrian Richardson. Bar Liberty is also getting on board with a Pet Nat Picnic, a quintessentially Northside event, while Tokyo Tina will be referencing the food and drink of Tokyo’s convenience store for dinner at the special event, Conveniently Tokyo.
It’s a hefty few months of top-notch food and booze in Melbourne and surrounds, though just as MFWF look to bring life back to our metro culinary scene, the team are also sharing the love and highlighting everything regional Victoria has to offer with Spring programming to be announced soon.
“Coming hot on the heels of the success of the New Year Street Feasts program, we’re thrilled to join in the roaring recovery of the city with a full calendar of great Melbourne Food & Wine Festival events,” said Anthea Loucas Bosha, CEO of Food + Drink Victoria, the not-for-profit parent company behind MFWF.
To see more of the program, and to book your tickets, head straight to MFWF.
Catch more movements in Melbourne’s hospitality scene here.
Image credit: supplied