Elite Traveler Summer 2020

EXPLORE FOOD FESTIVALS

Melbourne Food & Wine Festival MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA Ravenous? Wouldn’t you love a seat at the world’s longest lunch? In Melbourne, that constitutes a coveted reservation for 1,600 during the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival, held each March. A keystone event of the fête since 1993, Bank of Melbourne World’s Longest Lunch takes place outdoors in verdant Treasury Gardens, with Melbourne-based culinary masters at the helm. Enthralling roads are packed with unique shops, bars, cafes and galleries — inventive, idiosyncratic, sophisticated Melbourne does everything with style. It has set high standards in the food industry, with local chefs showcasing their diverse heritage in style and preparation. There is a focus on local produce, and the festival has a strong farm-to-table ethos, but it goes further than that by including ingredients used by indigenous Australians or dishes that tell a local story with poetic elan. Each year, the festival brings together some of the world’s top names in the epicurean universe for 10 days of events, demonstrations, seminars and workshops. Base yourself at The Langham, Melbourne, the city’s grande dame, five-star hotel, which lords over the Yarra River along the buzzy Southbank Promenade. Relax at the impressive Chuan Spa between bites. The next edition will be held in spring 2021. -BH melbournefoodandwine.com.au

Clockwise from top Fresh bites and drinks; entrance to the festival; the World’s Longest Lunch in Treasury Gardens

Photos PPR Media Relations AG