It's old news that the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival had to be postponed. Sadly, we will not be gorging ourselves silly on all things hot chip, attending a snack fair that highlights all the seven flavours of Sichuan cuisine, partying all night at a mini vegan food festival, or listening to some very knowledgeable people talk about food for free for quite some time.
In the interim, the team from the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival have put together the 'Online Edition' of the festival that you can enjoy without venturing out of your home. There will be sessions with Mike Russell from Baker Bleu to help you troubleshoot your home sourdough; a conversation session between the festival's creative director Pat Nourse and Ottolenghi's pastry chef Helen Goh; a chance to pre-order (!) and secure yourself Lune's Reuben croissant; the nerdiest food trivia session ever hosted by Cam Smith; Massimo Bottura showing you the secrets to the perfect lasagne; lessons in lockdown with Noma's Rene Redzepi; a preview of Tony Tan's new cooking school and heaps more. All you need is an internet connection, Instagram, a calendar reminder and to preorder your food and drink to join in on sessions (if applicable).
We'd tell you to prepare for the online festival by breaking out those comfy pants, but you probably have been living in them for the last few weeks. The whole program can be viewed here.