The best things to do at the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival

There's no denying the collective Aussie love for a good sausage sizzle, so the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival is taking the tradition to new heights in collaboration with some of Victoria's most beloved entertainers, performers and chefs. A group of celebs will battle it out to create their ultimate sausage combo (slapped in between Bakers Delight's finest, of course), including Darcy Moore, Matt Preston and Clare Bowditch. The event is child-friendly and there'll be plenty of creative bangers to choose from. All you need to do is show up with an appetite!

March 23-24, 11am-4pm. Free entry. 

Melbourne is a world-class food city, there's no doubt. But wouldn't it be neat if we could jet around the world and taste cutting-edge creativity from all of those great internationally based chefs, too? Well, this year, the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival is bringing some of the best culinary talent from around the globe straight to our shores as part of its Global Dining Series.

A monster program of 29 events are locked and loaded into the calendar, and tickets are selling fast. Highlights include a taste of authentic mapo tofu from a Sichuan master chef; an exclusive dining residency at Crown from the first female Indian chef to receive a Michelin star; and a Balinese feast from the Potato Head team in Brunswick. We're also excited to try the world's best shawarma at this day party hosted by Henrietta (tix only cost $34!), and feast on finger-licking Filipino fare at our readers' crowned fave restaurant Serai, where the team will be collaborating with one of Manila's top restaurants. Bring it on!

March 15-24, various times and prices.

The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival will kick off with the World's Longest Lunch, headlined this year by chef Andrew McConnell, the mastermind behind some of our city's most essential dining experiences: Gimlet, Cumulus Inc, Supernormal, Marion and Cutler and Co. The celebrated visionary will be serving an extravagant three-course lunch across more than 600 metres of table winding through Melbourne’s Kings Domain. Paired wines and light entertainment are included in the experience, which you can book at the website. 

March 15, 12-3:30pm. From $295.

The following day, Kings Domain will play host to another ambitious dining event: the World's Longest Brunch. Led by a trio of Melbourne’s new wave Indian food geniuses Harry Mangat (Biji Dining), Helly Raichura (Enter via Laundry) and Mischa Tropp (Toddy Shop), the brunch will feature tasty takes on chaat, classic Goan ros omelettes and a beloved Mughlai-style dessert. Go here to snag a spot, which gets you a seat at the brunch, Inglewood coffee and sparkling vino on arrival.

March 16, 10:30am-2pm. From $125.

The Baker's Dozen event is set to showcase some of Melbourne's finest pâtissiers and bakers, all who will be bringing limited-edition treats to an open-air market in Federation Square. Expect tarts, cakes, croissants and canelés from local favourites such as Black Star, Tarts Anon, Bread Club, Holy Sugar and Kudo across two deliciously sugar-dusted days. 

March 23-24, from 11am-4pm. Free entry. 

When you combine fine food and great theatre, magic happens. This immersive experience is a masterclass in just that, a curated gathering full of laughs, drama and plenty of wine to keep the good times flowing. So how does it work? Gluttony is an interactive play: you've been invited to a gathering of old friends for an extravagant and debaucherous final dinner, held at Gourmandis, a formerly acclaimed restaurant. 

Written by playwrights Nick Parr and chef Rob Kabboord in collaboration with Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre, the event seats diners among a cast of professional actors. As one of 18 guests, you’ll feast on a three-course course meal prepared by chef Rob Kabboord (former chef-de-cuisine at Sydney's Quay), paired with boutique Victorian wines – all while watching the drama unfold between the characters, of course. If you're a bit shy, don't fret! You're not required to participate, but rather live out the theatre as an invisible voyeur. Ooohh, this is going to be interesting. Find out more and get your hands on a ticket here.

March 15-24, from 7pm-9pm. From $394. 

This year, the festival has partnered with pizza oven pioneers Gozney to host a series of super fun pizza-making (and eating, of course) sessions at Fed Square. Guest talents include Ellie Bouhadana (Hope St Radio), Casey Wall (Capitano, Bar Liberty), Lucy Whitlow (Figlia) and Theo Loizou (MasterChef), all of who will be designing saucy slices to win you over. But don't expect to sit on the sidelines; you're encouraged to get your hands dusty prepping dough and topping your own pizzas, too. Find out more about the event here.

March 23 from 11am-8pm, and March 24 from 11am-6pm. Free entry.

Ever wish you could just skip the mains and go straight to sweets? Then you should get tickets to this inventive five-course dessert-centric degustation offering the opportunity to do just that. Pastry enthusiasts and longtime friends Ash Smith of Stokehouse and Eddie Stewart of Tokyo Lamington are taking guests on an odyssey, kicking off with a savoury lamington and moving onto four more innovative, sweet-driven creations. Soak in the sunset on St Kilda beach as the talented chefs take you through the entire dessert spectrum, shaking up everything you thought you knew about your sweet tooth. The event includes a complimentary drink overlooking the bay on arrival.

March 18, from 6:30pm-10pm. From $148. 

The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival is hosting more than 200 special events across its program this year, and this is where the fun really ramps up. Broaden your horizons with an AI- driven menu and wine pairings at Estelle, step inside the Lume for Melbourne hospo royalty Guy Grossi's jaw-dropping First Supper event, or celebrate Persian New Year with live music and authentic Iranian fare at multicultural cooking haven Free to Feed. Other highlights include a wine "dance-gustation" event (fresh from a sold-out Edinburgh Fringe Festival season), a whisky tasting accompanied by some of the world's best (and hardest to find) cheeses, and a nostalgic 90s pizza buffet. Too many options, not enough stomachs!

March 15-24, various times and prices.