Published 7 years ago

Melbourne Food and Wine Festival Announces 2019 Program

World's Longest Lunch·Photo: Courtesy Of Melbourne Food And Wine Festival

Heavy hitters such as famed Montreal restaurant Joe Beef and chefs including Quay’s Peter Gilmore will descend on Melbourne in March.

Words by Nick Buckley · Updated on 26 Nov 2019 · Published on 27 Nov 2018

Melbourne’s annual celebration of all things delicious and quaffable, the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, has just released its 2019 program.

For the festival’s first weekend the always popular House of Food and Wine will set up shop in the Malthouse Theatre. Inside, top local and international chefs such as Matt Abergel (Ronin and Yardbird, Hong Kong), Paul Carmichael (Momofuku Seiõbo, Sydney) and Kirsten Tibballs (Savour School, Melbourne) will perform cooking demonstrations; or you can catch a debate with heavyweights such as Peter Gilmore (Quay, Sydney) and Dan Hunter (Brae, Victoria). You’ll also find hands-on workshops with Derek Dammann (Maison Publique, Montreal), Sharon Flynn (The Fermentary, Victoria) and David Moyle (Longsong, Melbourne).

Food trucks are rolling in from Mamasita and Belles Hot Chicken; and there’s a series of international Asian street food collaborations between Rice Paper Sister (Melbourne), Toyo Eatery (Manila) and Jeepney (New York City); and Restaurant Shik (Melbourne), Atomix and Atoboy (New York City).

The party will really kick off when the sun sets with the House of Food and Wine After Dark line-up featuring a chicken cook-off led by Hong Kong-based yakitori expert Matt Abergel who will be joined by Melbourne’s own Morgan McGlone from Belles Hot Chicken, Thi Le from Anchovy, Palisa Anderson from Thai eatery and grocer Boon Cafe and Paul Carmichael from Momofuku Seibo in Sydney. Montreal’s renowned diner, the all-or-nothing, indulgent Joe Beef will host a sit down candlelit dinner; and wine and food writers Max Allen and Richard Cornish have devised a sensory quiz night.

Also returning is the outrageously popular World’s Longest Lunch that will see all-time great Karen Martini lead an all-female chef line-up to celebrate International Women’s Day. At the lunch, 1600 guests will sit down at a 500-metre-long table in Prahran’s Victoria Gardens.

There’s plenty more to get your head around including one-off dinners from international guest chefs and events in regional Victoria. More events will be announced in early 2019, but until then you can check out the program at melbournefoodandwine.com.au.

The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival runs from March 8 to 24, 2019.