Melbourne Food and Wine Festival Review: 4th Edition

For it's second year, the Roman Block Party at Giuseppe, Arnaldo & Sons closed the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival.  Although I hear last year's was bigger and better, it was a fantastic night with gourmet nibbles, sparkling wine, and Aussie celebs circling the Crown's Roman trattoria. 

Some of Melbourne's best restaurants joined the party as Josh Emett from Maze, Anthony Lui from Flower Drum, Shinichi Maeda from Wasabi, and Neil Perry from Rockpool Bar Grill delighted our tastebuds throughout the evening.  Every hour on the hour, new and exciting cocktails were presented by Aex Marchetti of Icebergs and Danielle Gjestland of Wasabi.

We were welcomed with a glass of sparkling upon arrival and it kept flowing throughout the night.  Gourmet tasting stations were positioned throughout the restaurant - freshly shucked oyters, bluefin tuna sashimi, cured meats shaved on the spot, and my favorite, the 'roadside' suckling pig where they were serving up pulled pork ciabattas smeared with herbed pesto, crackling, and candied mustard.  Making your way over to the tuna station, you were given a choice of a more traditional sashimi with freshly grated horseradish or a spoonful of ginger and sesame marinated tuna.  The oysters didn't last and were being slurped down as fast as they were shucked. 

In addition, servers kept your mouth full as they passed around a wide variety of hors d'oeuvres showing off talents of the culinary experts in the kitchen.  There was certainly no shortage of food or drink.  I don't think empty glasses were allowed.  I was looking forward to seconds of the cheesy arancini balls, the light and fluffy crab and spring onion pancakes, and the juicy pork dumplings.

If you needed a break from the posh scene inside, you could head outside to grab a seat on the patio overlooking the Yarra.  As the night went out on, the party headed outdoors as well.  After being a big fan of last year's Masterchef Australia, I was excited to meet two of my favorite judges, Matt Preston and George Calombaris. 

The night concluded with a take-away lamington from the new kid on the block, Maze.  I will definitely be back next year and highly recommend this event as long as you don't have a big day at work Monday ;)

Melbourne Food and Wine Festival Review : 3rd Edition

After a disappointing morning at the Prahran Market Flavour Fiesta, we headed over to Southgate Promenade for the annual Cellar Door at Southgate.  There was pretty much no way this event was going to the disappoint.  It was a beautiful day and most importantly, we were going on a wine tour of Victoria all within the confines of the city. 

I was pleased to see representation from all of the major wine regions across Victoria.  It was a great opportunity to taste new releases from undiscovered boutique wineries, grab a few sips of your favorites, and try some new varietals you might normally ignore. 

We were not disappointed with our familiar favorites, but I was delighted to discover a couple of new gems to add to my list:

Berrys Bridge Victoria Pyrenees Shiraz 2005 - I love that their single vineyard wines are estate grown and produced.  This intense shiraz is packed with the flavors of dark fruits, hints of spice so characteristic of Australian shiraz, and has a long earthy finish.

Downing Estate Shiraz 2005 - Another earthy and rich shiraz, it is surprisingly smooth.  Plummy with hints of chocolate to be noted.  I would assume this wine would continue to develop over the next decade.

Nearing the end of our day, we picked up a plate of local artisan cheese and nibbles at the adjoining Providores’ Market.  Enjoying superb local cheese and wine with a backdrop of the iconic Melbourne city skyline, perfection.

If you were in need of something a bit more substantial after a couple hours of tasting, Southgate restaurants were offering tasting plates for an additional charge.

On a humorous note, I was certainly drawn over to this winery for a taste... happy drinking.

Melbourne Food and Wine Festival Review: 2nd Edition

Prahran Market held the Flavour Fiesta yesterday.  In a word : Disappointed.  VERY disappointed.  In my opinion, it was barely worth the two dollars that we paid to park.  I couldn't see much difference from any other day visiting Prahran Market.

We were expecting a 'very special tasting event' as it was advertised, an event to educate shoppers, compare produce and learn about selection.  There were VERY few tastings and most of them were the same thing, grilled sausages.  Honestly, I most enjoyed reading the few educational postings about food and ingredients.

I do not recommend this event and I am disappointed that Prahran Market did not do more for this great concept.  Heading the Roman Block Party tonight and I do not expect to be disappointed.

Melbourne Food and Wine Festival Review: 1st Edition

The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival is currently underway and there are fabulous events going on all over the city!  This is the first of many events that I plan on attending.  I look forward to taking advantage of this wonderful opportunity to further explore the food and wine culture which Melbourne is so well known for. 

"Lose yourself in Melbourne."  As Melbourne is famous for it's hidden treasures found in the most unrecognizable laneways, we figured a laneway party was a great way to start enjoying the festival.  Again this year, Comme Kitchen in Melbourne's CBD hosted Joie de Vivre. 

Alfred Place was shipped overseas to France as guests enjoyed the tastes and sounds of France.  Contemporary French fare served hors d'oeuvre style, Frech wine, Kronenbourg, and French accordion music were enjoyed alfresco.   

My take.  We had a wonderful time, the weather held out and we enjoyed some nice food and drink.  Would we have had a great time if it weren't for good company?  I dont know if I would use the word great.  Although there were a limited number of tickets sold, they seemed to be short on food.  Servers brought around hors d'oeuvres throughout the evening, but at times, we didn't see any for 15 minutes or more and they ran out before the server made it to our table.  There was a point when they ran out of wine as well and had to restock. 

I was limited in what I tasted as I am not currently eating meat.  The ratatouille tarts were good although the actual tart was a bit dry.  The salted cod balls were fantastic, perfectly light and fluffy with a nice crunch.  Unfortunatly, we did not get to taste the scallop ceviche as they seemed to run out before it made it's way over.  Obviously, there were many hors d'oeuvres which I did not get to try so I am not sure if my review is a good reflection of the fare.

Would I go again next year?  No, unless I had the great company that I did this year and was confident that I would leave with a bit more food in my stomach.  I will be doing some catching up this weekend... looking forward to Cellar Door at Southgate, The Flavour Fiesta at Prahran Market, and the Roman Block Party at Giuseppe Arnold & Sons.