A late-booker’s guide to Melbourne Food & Wine Festival
Much of Melbourne Food & Wine Festival’s 2024 program, which runs from March 15 to 24, has already sold out. But not all!
“I kick myself when I notice a festival is on and I’ve left it too late to book anything,” says the festival’s creative director, Pat Nourse. “So, we’ve got plenty in the program for anyone who likes to book at the last moment.”
From rooftop parties with free-flowing cava to star-studded collab dinners, we’ve rounded up the best events you could (and should) still go to. Get booking.
Il Paradiso Divino del Porchetta
Get some pork on your fork at this long Saturday lunch by hatted lasagne haven 1800 Lasagne, Carlton butchery institution Donati’s, and Eurocentric wine importer La Carta. While there’ll be three courses with matched vino and G&Ts, it’s all about the headliner: crackling-crowned porchetta accompanied by confit fennel, roast capsicum and jus.
March 16, 1800 Lasagne, Thornbury, $160
A First Nations Culinary Journey
The storytelling will be just as compelling as the 11-dish spread at this coming together of two trailblazing First Nations chefs and Indigenous food advocates: Nornie Bero of the Torres Strait Islands and Nico Albert Williams of Oklahoma’s Cherokee Nation. Bero’s Fed Square restaurant, Big Esso at Mabu Mabu, will host the one-off event.
March 21, Big Esso at Mabu Mabu, Melbourne, $145
All aboard! Melbourne is in for a floating fiesta by two stars of Sydney’s Mexican scene: taqueria Ricos Tacos and temple-of-tequila El Primo Sanchez. Head to Arbory’s sibling Afloat, moored on the Yarra beside Flinders Street Station, for two hours of unlimited (yes, unlimited) tacos, and a tequila cocktail as you embark.
March 21, Afloat, Melbourne, $89
With a tagline like “Let there be lechon!” you know chefs Thi Le (Richmond’s Jeow and Ca Com) and Trisha Greentree (Sydney’s 10 William St and Fratelli Paradiso) are going big for their Filipino-Laotian dinner. Expect a family-style feast – where you’re encouraged to eat with your hands – revolving around a centrepiece worth celebrating: suckling pig.
March 17, Jeow, Richmond, $165
Elvis Abrahanowicz and Ben Milgate – the meaty mavericks behind Sydney’s Porteno – seem unlikely collaborators for plant-based powerhouse Shannon Martinez. But therein lies the intrigue. At a one-off dinner at Smith & Daughters in Collingwood, the trio will dish up an entirely vegan four-course banquet that captures all those smoky steakhouse stylings.
March 19, Smith & Daughters, Collingwood, $180-$240
Potato Head Comes to Brunswick
What do you get when you mix a Balinese hotspot with two beacons of Brunswick East? A banger of a block party. The cocktails will have Big Tropicana Energy, and the snacks will be a collaboration between Potato Head culinary queen Pam Yung, Etta’s Rosheen Kaul and Bar Romantica’s Jack Short, with a soundtrack by Potato Head resident DJ Dita.
March 17, Etta and Bar Romantica, Brunswick East, $79
Fizz: A Festival of Fermentation
A fermented dirty martini – specially created with local gin legend Four Pillars – will be in your hand as soon as you arrive at Fitzroy bar and bottle-o Odd Culture for this arvo of fizzy fun. Taste wild ales and funky vinos, then flame-grilled snacks by pop-up pro Tom Sarafian.
March 17, Odd Culture, Fitzroy, $78
Are you curious about where the fish you eat comes from? This four-course, share-style lunch at riverside restaurant Taxi Kitchen will have you hook, line and sinker. Sample some of the state’s most impressive wild-caught seafood, prepared by owner-chef Tony Twitchett and his team, and hear the history of the fisheries that bring it to the table.
March 17, Taxi Kitchen, Melbourne, $254
Perfect Pairing: A Wine Tasting Dancegustation
You’ve heard of a degustation. But what about a dance-gustation? After a sold-out season at Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Attitude Dance Company is bound for Brunswick urban winery Noisy Ritual for what can only be described as part wine tasting, part dance performance. Four eight-minute dances will pair with four different drops.
March 20, Noisy Ritual, Brunswick, $75
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Tomas Telegramma is a food, drinks and culture writer.