Melbourne Food and Wine Festival has just released its program for 2023 with a focus on fun and accessible experiences at Federation Square, plus a slew of high-profile guests jetting in from overseas. Curtis Stone will bring his lauded Los Angeles restaurant Gwen to Melbourne for the first time, and Yoshihiro Imai from Monk in Kyoto (you might have seen him in the most recent season of Chef's Table on Netflix) will cook at Embla.

The 10-day festival culminates in a weekend showcase at Federation Square from March 31 to April 2.

"It's a low-cost family-friendly program so people can come down and be part of the fun," says CEO Anthea Loucas-Bosha. "One highlight will be Celebrity Sausage, where we've invited cool celebs like Chrissie Swan, Virginia Trioli, comedian Rhys Nicholson and footballer Christian Petracca to design their own sausage."

Baker's Dozen celebrates 13 of Melbourne's dough grandees in an open air market that includes gluten-free baked goods.

"If you're keen to settle in, the Festival Bar overlooks the city and Yarra and has beautiful Middle Eastern food from Tom Sarafian and great drinks from the guys at Caretaker's Cottage," says Loucas-Bosha.

The Convenient Store was a hit at festival 2022; it's back for the duration of the festival at Fed Square selling takeaway snacks and produce from some of the city's most talented food people, including sandwiches from vegan game-changer Shannon Martinez and Lee Ho Fook's Victor Liong.

Festival favourite Crawl and Bite returns with progressive dinner parties in suburbs including Thornbury and South Melbourne, while Westside Wanders walks flavour trails in the west.

Special events include Robata's tribute to the food found in Studio Ghibli films, a cooking class with Enter Via Laundry's Helly Raichura, and Cheese-a-palooza, an evening dairy deep dive with Prahran Market's Maker & Monger.

"We're really excited we're back to full strength with 150 events around town," says Loucas-Bosha. "It's exciting to showcase the breadth and depth of our food experiences across the city."

The 2023 Melbourne Food & Wine Festival runs from March 24 to April 2.

Tickets go on sale to festival subscribers on January 31 and to the public on February 3 at mfwf.com.au.