Nigella Lawson will feature Melbourne Food and Wine Festival program in March; tickets are on sale now

Following two years marred by cancellations, Melbourne Food and Wine Festival returns this autumn with a bumper program for 2022, its 30th anniversary. Big names incorporate British TV star and author Nigella Lawson, Hong Kong chef Jowett Yu, who will cook at Nomad, Sichuan food master Fuchsia Dunlop, and London-based Australian Skye Gyngell (ex-Petersham Nurseries, Spring), who will get back to pop up at Hazel. International celebrity chef Nigella Lawson is set for a visit to Down Under and will show up at the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival next month.

The culinary superstar will get foodies the stay during the festival’s first weekend, which runs from 25 March to 9 April 2022. Among her appearances will be a discussion with former MasterChef co-host Matt Preston during a three-course lunch on Sunday, March 27.

“One of the really cheering things has been how excited our guests are to come to Melbourne,” says MFWF creative director Pat Nourse. “It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

The celebration dreamt big this year, enrolling Attica’s Ben Shewry for the mark World’s Longest Lunch for 2000 guests on March 25. Queen Victoria Market is the center for cheerful join-the-crowd events, for example, Snacktown, a weekend-long showcase of key Melbourne small bites (March 26-27), and The Big Spaghetti, a kid-friendly pasta party (April 2-3).

Special dinners incorporate Greenstone and Gold, in which Minyunbal woman and food activist Arabella Douglas will band together with Christine Manfield on March 29 at Rockpool Bar and Grill to investigate pre-colonization trade along Australia’s east coast, and Flame on, a dinner investigating China’s more searing cooking styles at Spice Temple with Sichuan food authority Fuchsia Dunlop on March 30.

Lawson will be in discussion with former MasterChef co-host Matt Preston during the three-course lunch on Sunday, March 27.

After over three years in the job, it’s whenever Nourse first will carry out a full program. The festival was cancelled in 2020; there was a shortened March edition in 2021, including a happy Longest Lunch for 1600 at Treasury Gardens, however, the bigger winter program was a casualty to lockdown.

“Feeling all the feels right now,” says Nourse. “Excitement, relief, joy – some of the curveballs that the summer has thrown at events and hospitality have kept us on our toes, but now the nerves are feeling more like anticipation. We can’t wait to bring this program to life.”

Major Events Minister Martin Pakula said the festival’s return following two years of lockdowns is something for Melbourne to celebrate.

“Melbourne is famous for its culinary scene and we support the festival because it brings people into our city to taste the best of what’s on offer,” he said. “And that means more jobs in our local hospitality industry.”

The festival starts when the World’s Longest Lunch gets back to Treasury Gardens on Friday 25 March, which will be led by renowned chef, Ben Shewry of Attica. The World’s Longest Brunch will happen on Sunday 26 March with a Middle Eastern menu.

The 2022 program additionally incorporates a family-friendly pasta fair, and a rock ’n’ roll ‘festival of plant-based eating and drinking, a get-together of the city’s best snacks. A special event in winter and a regional program in November will add to the festival’s 30th-anniversary celebrations in 2022.

Melbourne Food and Wine Festival runs from March 25 to April 9. Pre-sale tickets are presently on sale for MFWF subscribers; general-release tickets go on sale at 10 am on Thursday, February 17.