Taste of Melbourne in partnership with Electrolux has revealed its full line-up including 12 showcase restaurants and 22 top chefs. The culinary festival is set to take over the MCG’s Yarra Park from 30 November to 3 December 2017.
Participating chefs and restaurants include Frank Camorra from Melbourne tapas venue MoVida; George Calombaris from Melbourne Greek favourites The Press Club, Gazi, Hellenic Republic, Jimmy Grants; Robin Wickens from family-owned pub The Royal Mail; and Sandeep Rawata and Janral Singh Indian restaurants Piquancy (Hawthorne) and Babu Ji (St Kilda).
Nelly Robinson, from nel. and Nathan Sasi form Mercado, are joining forces to represent Sydney in a battle of the restaurants. On their home turf are chef Charlie Carrington from Atlas Dining and Peter Gunn from Ides.
Dan Hunter from Brae, Sam Pinzone and Geoff Lindsay from Dandelion and Raymond Capaldi will create a delicious menu and limited-edition dish with a percentage of proceeds supporting the R U OK? campaign.
Participating chefs and restaurants — including Michael Smith from Mamasita, George Calombaris and Reuben Davis from The Press Club, Scott Pickett from ESP, Christy Tania from Glacé and Liz Contini from Shadowboxer — will be collaborating with visual artists to create signature dishes and artworks in the Creative Collabs initiative.
Completing the line-up of chefs is Matt Wilkinson from The Pie Shop who will be working with premium Barcelona beer Estrella Damm to create a gourmet steak and beer pie. The Estrella Damm Bar will also see genuine Spanish imports flow on tap, offering festival goers an ice-cold break in a gastro garden bar setting.
Guests at Taste of Melbourne can also get up close and personal with six of Australia’s star chefs and enjoy the food they present, during 18 intimate Electrolux Chefs’ Secrets masterclasses: Nelly Robinson from nel., Scott Pickett from Estelle by Scott Pickett (ESP); Reuben Davis, executive chef at The Press Club; Jo Barrett from Oakridge; Matt McConnell of Bar Lourinhã; and Charlie Carrington from Atlas Dining.
The four-day culinary festival will also feature hourly ‘Table Talks’ covering topics as diverse as tea, smoking, bread making, mushroom growing, popcorn masterclasses, sake, rum, absinthe and chocolate.
Taste Festival Australia director Kristy Austin said this year’s festival embraced Melbourne’s creative heartbeat to celebrate good taste in its many manifestations.
“Melbourne is famous the world over for its star chefs, diverse culture and culinary entertainment. This year, we bring them all together with local creatives to curate a collision of cuisine and culture that can only be experienced at the festival.”
For more information on Taste of Melbourne, click here.
