Melbourne Food and Wine Festival Regional Edition 2022: Mega 10-day festival launches in November

Put on your stretchy pants, a mega food festival is heading to the regions this November — and here’s how you can be part of it.

A mega foodie fiesta is coming to the regions this November.

Melbourne Food and Wine Festival will go bush to celebrate the region’s best bites, after its successful city edition in March beginning with the Herald Sun’s World’s Longest Lunch.

The ten-day festival will travel statewide, starting in Gippsland at The Village Feast on November 19 and 20, with events in Ballarat, Bright, Rutherglen, Beechworth and Dunkeld also on the agenda.

Both city and regional venues will be part of the extravaganza: wine bar Embla will take over Warragul fine diner Hogget, and Farmer’s Daughters and Victoria founder Alejandro Saravia will host a campfire degustation with an all-Gippsland deli menu.

A ten-day mega food and wine festival is coming to regional Victoria.

Interstate foodies won’t be excluded from the fun, with Tasmanian author and chef Analiese Gregory and Danielle Alvarez (late of Sydney’s Fred’s) visiting for the event.

Food and Drink Victoria chief executive Anthea Loucas Bosha said she was thrilled the festival was back with a regional edition.

“This program highlights the extraordinary food and drink experiences that make Victoria the best place in the world to eat and drink, from our two-day takeover of Thorpdale for the Village Feast, a series of one-off dining events in Ballarat, and taking our popular Crawl and Bite tours to Victoria’s High Country. Let’s hit the road,” she said.

Melbourne Food and Wine Festival Regional Edition tickets go on sale Friday 30 September, 10am. Pre-sale tickets available from Tuesday September 27, 10am. mfwf.com.au

Young chef’s next challenge

Mexican-born chef Diego Huerta has taken the top job at South Melbourne fine diner, Lume. Picture: Rob Leeson.

Young chef Diego Huerta has lived a life enviable of most.

At 14, he moved to Paris from home country Mexico to work in Michelin star restaurants. Soon after he was rubbing shoulders with top French chefs Manuel Martinez and Yannick Alléno before moving to Copenhagen to spend three years as a chef de partie at Rasmus Kofoed’s world-best restaurant, Geranium.

In 2020 he landed his first head chef gig at South Melbourne’s posh dinner spot Lûmé, where he stepped up to replace Elijah Holland, who now heads up the kitchen at St Kilda’s Loti. And after what seems like a lifetime of wins, Huerta is hoping to take another at next month’s San Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition.

Huerta, 27, is one of four Melbourne chefs who will fire up the burner for the Sydney heats on October 16 and 17, with the winner vying for the global title in Milan next year.

He’ll cook a zero-waste dish of marbled turbot, potato and seaweed inspired by the sea.

“I’ve been waiting for two years because of Covid to compete and now I’m ready to take part,” he said.

“As a young chef, I feel winning a competition is a step forward to be more well known in the industry.”

Not that Huerta isn’t already making waves in Melbourne.

Since taking Lûmé’s reins, Huerta has installed a plant-based set menu to run alongside the traditional, inspired by his Geranium stint.

“I’m wanting more of a focus on vegetables,” he said.

“When I moved to Copenhagen it was a totally different interpretation of the food (to French), as not every meal had to contain an animal protein. It’s a different mentality.”

2022 Pacific Region S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition winner will be announced on October 17.

Champagne royalty in Melbourne

Real Housewives of Melbourne reality star and champagne dame Kyla Kirkpatrick and Clovis Taittinger. Picture: Jason Edwards

Champagne royalty Clovis Taittinger already knows Melbourne is a French fizz loving city; strangely he can tell by our passion for Formula 1.

The Taittinger managing director made this curious observation during a fleeting visit last week to launch the limited release Taittinger Brut Réserve, the official champagne of the FIFA World Cup 2022.

“Melbourne has a high-intensity pace of living and maybe in its case a “pace of driving” – Melbourne has bubbles in its genes,” he said.

Only 3000 bottles of the non-vintage bubbles will be sold in Australia, via online store Emperor run by ‘Champagne Dame’ and Real Housewives of Melbourne star Kyla Kirkpatrick.

There will be 150,000 bottles available worldwide.

“Australians are very happy people in general and they see life in a positive way. Champagne is a way to demonstrate that joie de vivre,” Taittinger said.

Taittinger Brut Réserve FIFA World Cup 2022 costs $129 per bottle and is available exclusively from Emperor Champagne from November 17.

Shed Fest is returning to the Yarra Valley on October 8 and 9.

Drinking season

Wine lovers, mark these dates in your calendar.

— Heathcote Wine and Food Festival is back after a two year break this October.

Taste new release and museum wines from 41 producers across the region, sit in a session to learn about the region’s best drops, Mediterranean reds, food and wine pairings or take a shiraz masterclass.

Wine experts and podcasters Meg Brodtmann and Mel Gilcrist, from Wine with Meg and Mel, will host some of the info sessions.

Foodies will not be forgotten, with chef Luis Calandro (former Grossi Merchant) spit-roasting local meats over coals, served in Turkish bread or with a grain salad.

The Flying Calamari Brothers, The Greek Stop, Long Paddock Cheese and Salami Shack are among the others that’ll feed the masses.

General admission tickets start at $50.

— The Yarra Valley’s two-day Shedfest will show off the region’s best small wine producers.

At least 14 of the region’s smaller wineries, including Boat O’Craigo, Billanook Estate, Soumah, Steels Gate and Yering Farm will open their cellar doors (or sheds) to pour you a glass of wine. The festival showcases lesser-known wineries that typically don’t have cellar doors. The festival’s return after a two-year hiatus will be welcomed by the region. Kids and dogs are welcome.

Tickets start at $35 for a single day, or $50 for the weekend.

Heathcote Wine and Food Festival, October 1-2, heathcotewinegrowers.com.au

Shedfest, October 8-9, shedfest.com.au