Melbourne Food and Wine Festival 2022: Nigella Lawson, Attica headline blockbuster event
UK powerhouse Nigella Lawson has announced another event at the city’s favourite food and wine festival, after tickets to her one-off lunch sold out.
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UK powerhouse Nigella Lawson has announced a second event at the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, after her first sold out lunch.
Lawson will make her first festival appearance at Drinks with Nigella at Federation Square, hosted by former MasterChef star, radio host and cookbook author Alice Zaslavsky.
The cocktail-style event will serve savoury snacks and drinks during the hour-long conversation.
“We’re thrilled to be able to stage a second event with Nigella Lawson, as well as bring our visiting and local chefs to Queen Victoria Market for free cooking demonstrations, thanks to the support from the Victorian Government,” Food and Wine chief executive Anthea Loucas Bosha said.
“There are still plenty of tickets to our events at Queen Victoria Market including Welcome to the Jungle and Maximum Chips, and our reboot of the long Friday lunch, High Steaks.”
Tickets to Drinks with Nigella cost $115 per person and go on sale 10am Friday.
Nigella’s second festival appearance comes as MFWF released its talent line up at the Queen Victoria Market on March 26-27 and April 2-3.
Cooking demonstrations will be held on the main stage across two weekends of the festival, hosted by Melbourne food identities including the Herald Sun’s food and wine writer Kara Monssen, alongside Sofia Levin and Cam Smith.
International talent appearing on the main stage includes LA comedian and winemaker Eric Wareheim, Sichuan food expert Fuchsia Dunlop and London chef Skye Gyngell alongside Melbourne’s own George Calombaris, Karen Martini and Guy and Carlo Grossi.
Meanwhile, make up for lost time and block out these Melbourne Food and Wine Festival events on your calendar from March 25.
1) NIGELLA LAWSON
The celebrity chef, broadcaster and cookbook author is back in Melbourne to host two events — a Sunday lunch and an afternoon drinks — at Federation Square. The domestic goddess will sit down with longtime mate Matt Preston on Sunday March 27 to chat about the joy of cooking and food. She’ll host an hour-long afternoon drinks on Saturday March 26. Lawson flew out for the two-week festival back in 2011, where she held a masterclass at the Langham Melbourne with Aussie presenter and cook Anna Gare. Tickets include a welcome cocktail and snack on arrival, followed by a three-course lunch designed by Lawson with matched drinks.
Saturday March 26 4.30pm to 5.45pm, tickets $115, Sunday, March 27, noon-4pm, tickets $285.
2) ATTICA IN GARDENS
Melbourne chef Ben Shewry will feed more than 1000 hungry mouths with his world-class cooking for the Herald Sun’s World’s Longest Lunch. This is the first time Attica has shared elements of its $320-a-head degustation at this scale.
Friday, March 25, noon-4pm, tickets $225.
3) MIDDLE EASTERN BRUNCH
Maha’s Shane Delia and friends Joseph Abboud (Rumi) and Kirsty Chiaplias (Babajan) will marry Melbourne’s favourite pastime with one of its much-loved cuisines for return event The World’s Longest Brunch. A wet day timetable moved this from Treasury Gardens to Carlton’s Royal Exhibition Building. Hopefully the weather gods are on our side this year.
Saturday, March 26, 10.30am-1pm, tickets $89.
4) SNACK ATTACK
If you have a hankering for West Footscray’s famous Pastrami Mami bagel at Migrant Coffee, or A1 Bakery’s halloumi pie, Snacktown is bringing you our best small bites under the one roof. Wear your stretchy pants, as there are only two days to eat as many dumplings, boreks and roti as you can.
March 26-27, free entry.
5) CARBY PARTY
Hands up if you like pasta? What about hot chippies? Two of our gloriously golden carbs will be celebrated in their delicious forms at the family friendly Big Spaghetti and Maximum Chips events at the Queen Victoria Market. For $35, Maximum Chips lets you eat as many chips – potato gems, crinkle cut, shoestring and fries – as you can handle, while the Big Spaghetti showcases all things noodly from Tipo 00, Mister Bianco, Al Dente, Marameo, Lagotto, Pastore and Agostino, with Pidapipo on gelato duty.
Maximum Chips, Friday, March 25. $35 per person.
The Big Spaghetti, Saturday, April 2-3, free entry.
6) CRUSH ON YOU
Thirsty mouths can learn more about our state’s incredible drink offerings at festival first-timer New Crush. The makers of Victoria’s best wine, beer, cider and spirits – even non-alcoholic drinks – will be up for a chat. Live music helps the good times roll and if you’re up for a boogie, shimmy over to the sans-booze silent disco.
New Crush, Saturday, April 9, $40 per person.
7) CHEF SERIES
After two years of no travel, Melbourne Food and Wine has called in the big guns for its 2022 chef series, with a raft of local and international names in the mix. Isaac McHale from London’s The Clove Club will pop up at Cutler and Co and US comedian Eric Wareheim will do delicious things at Hope St Radio. They’ll take over some of the city’s best kitchens with Aussie expat Dave Pynt, from Singapore’s Michelin-star Burnt Ends, and Jowett Yu, formerly of Hong Kong’s Ho Lee Fook. Local heroes include Firedoor’s Lennox Hastie, Momofuku’s Paul Carmichael and Minyunbal food activist Arabella Douglas and chef Christine Manfield.
8) SUBURBAN CRAWL
Find your neighbourhood’s hidden foodie gems on one of several Crawl and Bite tours. Small groups of food lovers are taken on a progressive dining experience through city and surrounds, pitstopping at big and small name venues. Carlton, South Yarra, Fitzroy, Footscray and Collingwood are some patches covered.
9) PLANT POWER
Vegan queen Shannon Martinez steps into the jungle once more to spin her cruelty-free eats at Welcome to the Jungle. Fancy Hanks, Rumi, Warung Agus and Rice Paper Sisters will also each cook a plant-powered dish for the night, served with zero-booze cocktails.
Friday, April 1, $80 per person.
10) CUT ABOVE
The chefs who know their way around an animal are carving up the ultimate long lunch with High Steaks. Ten city restaurants, including Bar Margaux, Chancery Lane, San Telmo, Prince Dining Room and Rockpool Bar and Grill, will host the series over two consecutive Fridays in April. Tickets include a 3608 Nagambie Gin martini on arrival.
Friday, April 1 and 8.
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