Celebrity chef Karen Martini hosts one-off charity lunch for Foodbank

This is not a drill. Melbourne chef Karen Martini is hosting the ultimate three-course feast — which includes two glasses of wine and dessert — for less than a tenner. Here’s how to snare a spot.

Celebrity chef Karen Martini is preparing a one-off dinner in June that only costs diners $7.90 for a three-course feed, including two wines. Proceeds raised will go to charity Foodbank. Picture: David Caird

How much would you expect to pay for a three-course meal?

Celebrity chef Karen Martini can do all of this, plus two glasses of wine and a drink on arrival, for $7.90.

The celebrated Melbourne chef is preparing the one-off, three-course lunch at her St Kilda restaurant Saint George next month.

“I was supposed to make one entree for this, but I’ve made three. I can’t stop myself,” she said.

The Kindness Kitchen lunch, in partnership with Foodbank and Chobani, aims to shine a light on Aussies who don’t know where their next meal is coming from.

Proceeds raised from the sale of tickets, and tubs of yoghurt for the next six months, will be donated to the charity, with six meals donated to Foodbank for every tub sold.

“The menu has a sense of generosity,” Martini said.

“(Restaurateurs and chefs) have to question how far we can raise our (meal) prices in this climate, in the future. We need something to celebrate.”

Martini’s lunch line-up includes squishy focaccia, a thrice-cooked potato cake with whipped cod roe, signature roast chook with chargrilled bread sauce, anise roasted carrots with macadamia and fermented chilli, charred roman beans and baked ricotta, as well as a semifreddo made with passionfruit yoghurt.

“That (semifreddo) may even feature on our menu for a little while longer,” Martini hinted.

Foodbank Australia chief executive Brianna Casey said: “We are seeing the face of hunger change before our eyes. Our research shows that households experiencing food insecurity for the first time are increasingly younger, live in metro cities, and earn decent incomes.

“We’ve been working with Chobani since 2012 to help the many people in our communities doing it tough. This latest collaborative campaign is our most impactful yet. Seeing that purple tub on the shelf at Woolworths and knowing it will provide the equivalent of six meals through Foodbank’s fruit and veg programs just brings me such joy.”

The Kindness Kitchen lunch will be held on Thursday 6 June, 12pm-2pm, at Saint George in St Kilda.

Tickets: https://events.humanitix.com/the-kindness-kitchen-by-chobani-x-karen-martini