Celebrate Melbourne's extraordinary culinary scene in March

Melbourne Food & Wine Festival has today released its full Melbourne program, which celebrates all that’s extraordinary about eating and drinking in Australia’s culinary capital.

The 2019 Melbourne Food & Wine Festival presented by Bank of Melbourne takes place from 8 to 24 March, offering Festival-only experiences across the state.

Food + Wine Victoria CEO Anthea Loucas Bosha said, “From a delicious coup d'état at Attica to a souva-lucky dip at George Calombaris’ Press Club – Projects, we’re thrilled to announce an amazing line-up of events across Melbourne that showcase the passion and creativity that’s so prevalent in our city.”

Highlights of the Melbourne umbrella program include:

- Anarchy at Attica - Be a part of the mutiny as the staff at Attica unite to feed their fearless leader, Ben Shewry and everyone else dining that night on an eight-course menu with matched drinks showcasing their shared histories, cultures and what they have learnt during their time at Attica.18 March, dinner, $395 per person

- Carnevale at Trattoria Emilia - Celebrate the bacchanalian fun of 'Carnevale' in the alleyways of Melbourne with Italian street food, spritzes, masks and music. 24 March, afternoon, $33 per person

- Pasta Pasta Pasta at Tipo 00 - Andreas Papadakis and Pasi Petanen collaborate on a five-course pasta degustation showcasing unique seasonal pasta dishes, served with your choice of a sulphur free wine match by Giorgio de Maria or a more conventional match by Luke Skidmore. 10 March, lunch and dinner, $160 per person.

- Salty Jime's Fish & Chips at Iki-Jime - An ode to endless Australian summers by the beach, the freshest fish in town will be gently fried to perfection and served with crispy hand-cut chips dusted in Iki-Jime’s signature clam salt. 22 March, lunch, $20 per person

- Sauce Day with Neil Perry - Join Neil Perry and head chef of Rosetta Ristorante Paul Easson for a communal sauce bottling fiesta at Alfred Place. They’ll share inside tips for turning your bottled tomatoes into delicious sugo and passata and then create a shared Italian feast, where passata and sugo take centre stage. Dishes will be matched to a glass of Victorian wine. Take home your bottled tomatoes as well as a recipe card from the chefs. 22 March, lunch, $85 per person.

- Souva-Lucky at Press Club – Projects - Visit the pop-up souva bar at Press Club – Projects and roll the dice as they serve up a new souva innovation each day. 20-22 March, evening, $31 per person.

- Super Garden Party - At Flemington’s Super Saturday, indulge in dishes from Atlas Dining and Colours Kitchen, sip on locally brewed craft beers at the Hop Harvest Bar, boutique Victorian wines at the Grapevine Bar and botanical-inspired cocktails in the Cocktail Quarter. 9 March, admission to the Super Garden Party is free with a Super Saturday ticket.

Crawl ’n’ Bite presented by Victoria Harbour

Stop in for a plate and a drink at three restaurants in one night in a progressive dinner experience that uncovers the famous dining strips that make eating and drinking in Melbourne extraordinary. Highlights of cult favourite Crawl 'n’ Bite presented by Victoria Harbour in 2019 include:

- Carlton Wine Crawl – Be guided on a wine-focused journey through the past, present and future of Carlton, beginning at Carlton Wine Room with the Good Food Guide’s 2019 Sommelier of the Year Travis Howe, continuing at iconic deli King & Godfree, which recently reopened its heritage-listed doors, and concluding with an informative wine and cheese tasting at much-loved fromagerie Milk the Cow . 18 March, evening, $98 per person.

- New Kids on the Block – There has been a changing of the guard in the Punch Lane precinct at the top end of Little Bourke Street. Chef David Moyle will wow you at Longsong with his wood-fired snacks and skewers, old school hospitality will prevail at chef and owner Joseph Abboud’s Bar Saracen and chef Jerry Mai draws on her family’s Vietnamese and Cambodian roots at her hawker-style diner Annam. 18 March, evening, $78 per person.

Restaurant Express presented by OpenTable

Visit some of Melbourne’s best restaurants and the regions’ brightest stars with our exclusive offer: two courses and a matched beverage for only $40.

- Joining the program in 2019 are:
- Asado Bar y Grill
- Bar Saracen
- Rosetta

Other highlights on the program include:

- Grossi Florentino
- Iki-Jime
- Maha
- Matteo’s Restaurant
- Supernormal Canteen

River Graze

On the Festival’s Closing Weekend, the south bank of the Yarra River will be transformed into a food and wine lover’s playground for the perennial crowd favourite, River Graze .

From 22 to 24 March, River Graze will feature more than 60 Victorian producers and winemakers, food trucks and stallholders from Federation Square to Crown Riverwalk. Highlights include:

- City Cellar - Enjoy wines from around 25 of Victoria's brightest wine makers, accompanied by cheese platters, rolls and cannoli from That’s Amore Cheese and seafood from Leftbank Restaurant.

- Food Truck Stop - Benny’s Burgers, Happy Camper and Twister Fisherman trucks will be joined on the river’s edge by Dazey Pops and N’Cannuolu dessert carts, where visitors can taste Sanpellegrino’s sparkling fruit teas.

- Full Moon Party - A three-day festival bristling with tropical brio, Long Chim’s Full Moon Party brings the spirit of a Thai beach to Crown’s Riverwalk.

- Marketplace - Discover Victorian artisans and producers at the Marketplace. Taste Barker’s sauces, chutneys and relishes, including on a delicious toastie.

- Southgate’s Boardwalk Bites - Southgate restaurants will showcase four of their signature dishes with a street food twist. Each dish must come in a box, in a cone, in a bun or on a stick.

- Starward’s Whisky Garden - Sample Melbourne’s own Starward Whisky and learn the art of the perfect whisky brew with BBQ goods from Hoy Pinoy and Bluebonnet and delicious desserts from Bibelot.

- Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden presented by Herald Sun - The Stephanie Alexander Foundation hosts a seasonal garden built by the Little Veggie Patch, showcasing herbs, fruits and vegetables in season. Children can take part in a free preserving workshop run by Fowlers Vacola using veggies from the garden, while parents can relax with a Lavazza coffee and a Herald Sun newspaper.

- Stomping Ground Beer Garden - You can’t miss Stomping Ground and Asado’s brightly coloured shipping containers, and you certainly won’t want to miss their award-winning beers and Argentinian grilled food. The Melbourne craft brewery will also be showcasing a new beer brewed exclusively for the Festival in collaboration with Pink Boots Society.
Supported by City of Melbourne, River Graze is free to enter and will be sure to wow Melburnians and visitors alike with the array of culinary delights on offer.

Previously announced
Key events announced in the first round of tickets include:

The House of Food and Wine - Transforming Melbourne’s Malthouse Theatre into a premium drinking and dining destination on the opening weekend (8-11 March), by day the House of Food and Wine will see food trucks offer bespoke creations and cocktails, top local and international chefs will demonstrate their dishes and discuss hot button topics, and tastings and hands-on will keep hands and minds busy. Come night, the party gets started with a collaborative menu of globetrotting chicken dishes, an open-air feast from Montreal’s hottest restaurant team and a gastronomic quiz night.

Bank of Melbourne World’s Longest Lunch - sold out.

Global Dining Series supported by Lavazza - limited tickets remain for a small number of dinners, including:
- Ryan Clift at Osteria Ilaria
- Jordy Navarra, Nicole Ponseca, Yasmin Newman, Ross Magnaye at Rice Paper Sister
- Junghyun Park at Restaurant Shik
- Rosio Sanchez at Mamasita
- James Whetlor at Bomba

Regional Weekend (15-17 March) - A weekend dedicated to showcasing the producers, chefs and winemakers of regional Victoria, with 20 Regional World’s Longest Lunches lunches taking place simultaneously on Friday 15 March, The Village Feast in Jindivick on Saturday 16 March and another 50 events across the state throughout the weekend.

Melbourne Food & Wine Festival is supported by Victoria’s tourism and major events company Visit Victoria and naming rights partner Bank of Melbourne, which has supported the Festival every year since the bank was relaunched to the Victorian market in 2011.

More information and tickets available at mfwf.com.au

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