MFWF 17 and More Food

One of our favourite festivals came and went in the space of 2 weeks and it kept us busy, well fed and happy. Experience has taught us to get organised in December and book tickets to the big ticket events we want to go to and before you know it, the end of March rolls in, and we're there!

This year felt bigger as it coincided with World's Top 50 Restaurants Awards and Melbourne was awash with cooking royalty.

We kicked off the festival with one of the longest running and most traditional events - the Long Lunch which was took place on Lygon Street with guest of honour Antonio Carluccio.

We were lucky that after heavy rain the day before, it cleared up and the impressive long table stretching down several blocks was so welcoming and inviting. We were entertained by singers making their way down the tables and Carluccio himself did a lap of honour in a golf cart.

Given there were about 1800 people there, Peter Rowland Catering did a great job with the food and the hospitality was warm and generous. We were so well looked after by the wait staff that served our section of the table and were impressed at how well run the event was. The news reporters covering the event had a harder time trying to find sections of revelmakers that wouldn't interrupt the filming with waving and cheering! Less successful for them!

This is a great event and I'm sad we haven't discovered it earlier so that we can make it a regular thing! Definitely get a group together, take the day off (it's on a Friday), let the hair down and enjoy!

We backed up Friday's long lunch with dinner at The Press Club for their April Fool's themed event for the festival. This was one of the pricier events (excluding drinks) and it was described with all the hype and hyperbole so our expectations were high.

For the occasion, The Press Club went from Greek to Indian. There were moments of delicious food but we actually felt the event was over priced and over sold. It didn't run with the precision of the Long Lunch nor was the hospitality as warm or generous. Sadly it was a bit of let down for us.

Third day in a row for a MFWF event and I found myself at Madame Brussels on a Sunday afternoon with a couple of girlfriends enjoying plenty of rose and pink cocktails and some nibbles on a Japanese theme. It was a chilly afternoon so the blankets came out but the vibe was warm and the swinging party meant new friends were made and there were plenty of laughs.

So the weekend ended but the Festival continued and on Monday evening, we found ourselves at the Monday Family Dinner.

It's a clever event conjured up by Dan Hong of Sydney's Mr. Wong's based around the fact that Monday night dinner's at his mum's is THE place to go.

We were expecting shared tables of communal food but it turned out to be like a market with stalls offering the different dishes. Once we'd adjusted our expectations, it worked out pretty well, mainly because we were able to find a little corner table outside. For those forced to stand, it might not have been such a great experience. I did overhear a girl who was a little upset that she'd gone home from quick, freshened up, put on a new fancy outfit only to have to keep her coat on and eat off paper plates stood up!

The queues moved quickly, the food was tasty and with 6 accompanying drinks, price wise it was decent value. Not to mention, we didn't have to queue for a Lune croissant and instead it was served to us! That in itself is a rare experience right?

​Had we not been hitting the events every day since Friday I think we'd have stuck around longer and made sure we got our 6 drinks.

We had a 4 day hiatus from Festival events before our final outing at the Winemaker's Feast. Our table was hosted by Phillip Jones and his wife from Bass Philip and we were treated to a selection of his wines and a couple of others chosen by our accomplished sommelier Nick Hildebrandt of Sydney fame from Yellow, Cirrus, Bentley and Monopole.

Seated at a round table (table 8 was the best table in my opinion) it was like being at a super fun and very beautiful wedding with plenty of good cheer and some amazing food from Scott Pickett. The Sher wagyu beef with the Vichy carrots and fermented black truffle was a stand out! 

At one point we were served three glasses of pinot noir, 2010, 2012 and 2015 alongside a delicious duck and cherry dish. Such a treat and so nice to see a table groaning under the weight of numerous glasses of pinot noir.

This was far, far, far from banqueting food you could imagine and it was a delightful way to spend the evening.

Strictly speaking after the wonderful Winemaker's Feast, Melbourne Food and Wine Festival 2017 was over for us. We were able to mourn the end of the frivolity with a heartwarming, tastebud tingling pop up dinner at Persillade in East Melbourne held by Dalchini. Ex head chef at Tonka, Ved and pastry chef Kaylene treated us to a wonderful modern Indian menu.

Truly delicious and well balanced spicing from the first taste to the last. It was a lovely way to ward off the chill and rain of the incoming Winter.

After enjoying everyone else's labours of kitchen love and hospitality, it was time for us to host. We had a few friends round over Easter weekend and enjoyed putting on an Nobu inspired feast. We launched with some of the famous and well loved Nobu dishes of jalapeno yellowtail king fish and crispy rice cubes and spicy tuna. I hope we honoured Nobu with our renditions. It seemed to go down well with our guests even if one of them did crack a tooth on the crunchy rice cubes! Eek!

As hostess I was gifted the most elaborate Easter centrepiece complete with fluffy chicks, a manic looking bunny and plenty of chocolate! It was exactly what our little soiree needed!

And Amelia has also been having fun. She's pulling plenty of funny faces these days!