Tweet
- Photo: Melbourne Food and Wine Festival
The internationally acclaimed 2011 Melbourne Food and Wine festival, now in its 19th year, is the highlight of many an Australian foodie’s calendar and attracts some of the biggest culinary and wine personalities in the world. Held every March, the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival offers chefs, winemakers and food lovers over 250 events packed into 10 days.
An expression of Melbourne
More than 400,000 people from all over the globe visit the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival every year. The festival takes place in basements, rooftops and world-famous restaurants. Festival CEO Natalie O’Brien says the event is ‘an expression of all the food attributes of this state – a celebration of what Melbourne is.’ Highlights of this year’s festival are the World Street Food Festival, master classes with top international chefs and the annual World’s Longest Lunch.
The World’s Longest Lunch
The 2011 Melbourne Food and Wine Fest started off on 4 March with the renowned World’s Longest Lunch. This event saw up to 1,000 people tucking into a three-course meal accompanied by some of the state of Victoria’s finest wines. ‘It’s a brilliant idea,’ says Jamie Oliver of the prestigious lunch that celebrates the age-old tradition of communal eating, even though the UK celeb chef himself did not actually manage to attend.
UK celebrity chefs
Among the celebrity chefs attending the festival this year are spice wizard Atol Kochhar, Irish legend Rachel Allen and domestic goddess Nigella Lawson. Award-winning chef Adam D’Sylvia of trendy Melbourne restaurant Coda is particularly excited to have Nigella Lawson at the festival this year. He is a huge fan of her ‘beautiful, sumptuous, sexual ways of presenting food.’
If you’re regretting not going to this year’s Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, you still have a few days to get a ticket to London’s La Dolce Vita, a celebration of the best of Italian food and wine.
Leave a Response