Melbourne Food & Wine Festival will return in 2020, this time taking place exclusively in Melbourne over 10 days from 19 to 29 March with a new festival dedicated to regional Victoria set to launch in spring 2020.
An impressive suite of international and local talent will descend on the city, including Alison Roman, Fuchsia Dunlop, Ignacio Mattos, Helen Goh, Michael Solomonov and Lee Tiernan, as well as Josh Niland, Shannon Martinez, Ben Shewry, Andrew McConnell and Pamela Clark.
This year’s feature events will be held at the Queen Victoria Market.
Fuchsia Dunlop will headline new event, ‘Sichuan Snack Fair’, which will showcase Chinese dishes created by Dainty Sichuan, Spice Temple, Lee Ho Fook, Supernormal, Sun Kitchen and more on Sudnay 22 March.
Shannon Martinez of Smith & Daughters will team up with special guests Matt Wilkinson (Crofter), Jerry Mai (Annam) and more for ‘Welcome to the Jungle’, a celebration of plants on Friday 27 March.
A number of dining experiences are on the cards. Ben Shewry will lead ‘Attica Presents: A day exploring the idea of hope’ through a series of free talks and performances on Sunday 29 March.
Festivalgoers can mingle with industry trailblazers including Alison Roman, Fuchsia Dunlop, Michael Solomonov, Pamela Clark and Josh Niland at Shed X, which will host free talks and demonstrations on 20, 21 and 28 March.
Other program highlights include The Longest Lunch — one of the flagship events — will bring together Stephanie Alexander, Philippe Mouchel and Jacques Reymond on Friday 20 March to deliver an outdoor feast to more than 1,600 guests.
‘Take the Cake’ will celebrate the the 40th anniversary of the first edition of The Australian Women’s Weekly Children’s Birthday Cake Book with the an exhibition at the Ian Potter Centre, NGV Australia bringing the cakes to life.
And Alison Roman will host an intimate party inspired by her book Nothing Fancy on 22 March.