Best events of 2026 program
Not sure how to tackle the program of over 200 events? Follow these picks from those in the know. There’s pizza from London’s leading chefs, hot oven collaborations in the heart of the city and a one-of-a-kind barbecue.
Rick Stephens
A beloved television chef is reviving his groundbreaking Collingwood restaurant from more than 40 years ago. Some of the biggest names in Slavic and Balkan cuisine come together for a full-throated meal on the grill. And the world’s leading Samoan fine dining restaurant is making the journey to town. Melbourne Food and Wine Festival 2026 and its program of more than 200 events are in full swing.
We asked the festival’s chief content officer, Rick Stephens, for his top picks to guide all the long lunches and bountiful brunches taking place March 20-29. Some are free, while others require you to book in advance. For more information and tickets visit: melbournefoodandwine.com.au.
Something Spoiled: Pizza Party (free)
Would you be interested in 1000 slices of free pizza? Radical southern Italian talents Luca Muscato and Marco Salzano of Carlton’s pasta spot Super Norma are returning to this Festival and dishing out more of their excellent Italian dishes for free. In 2026, its namesake alla Norma transforms into an eggplant, tomato and cheese pizza with a little help and plenty of dough from fellow Carltonians Leonardo’s Pizza Palace. In addition to 1,000 free slices, the crew is offering 800 free Bloody Marys to anyone who thinks 11:30 a.m. on Thursday is better with a brunch cocktail in hand.
Leonardo’s Pizza Palace, 29 Grattan St, Carlton, Thursday 26 March, 11.30am, while stocks last
Slav-a-sign
Eat Pierogi Make Love is hosting its second Balkan-inspired barbecue at its Brunswick East restaurant, led by chef Ola Gladysz. We’re talking plenty of grilled seafood, slow-cooked lamb shoulder, generous amounts of pierogi and his signature kaszanka; Last year’s fan-favorite black pudding and sauerkraut concoction, frankly, doesn’t haunt me as much as it still does. Internet phenomenon and chef Daniel Dobra and MasterChefSnezana Calic from joins Gladysz in the kitchen, combining her Balkan and West Slavic roots for a party like no other.
Eat Pierogi Make Love, 161 Lygon St, Brunswick East, Saturday, March 21 and Sunday, March 22, various sessions
Clichy: Original Food French Style
I can’t be the only millennial to pick up basic cooking skills from daytime television veteran, celebrity chef and now social media star Iain “Huey” Hewitson, so his revival of influential Collingwood restaurant Clichy is a treat for Australians of all generations. Huey will join the team at Carlton’s Bistra for a special Festival appearance, serving a four-course menu inspired by Clichy dishes. The collaboration also coincides with the launch of Huey’s memoir Who called the cook a bastard?
Bistra, 157 Elgin St, Carlton, Mon-Thu 23 March 26 March, 17.30-20.45
Lunch with Helen Goh
This Festival is a long-time collaborator of Ottolenghi, international food columnist and renowned baker Helen Goh The cake master goes on stage with his friends Emelia Jackson For a discussion about life in baking. You, too, can arrive with a three-course lunch that looks like this: shrimp sambal buns, puttanesca galette, red curry chicken and veggie pies, Dutch baby with mortadella, Goh’s highly addictive chewy cheese puffs, and more signature dishes from his first solo cookbook, Cooking and the Meaning of Life. Let’s go!
Federation Square, Swanston St and Flinders St, Melbourne, Sunday 29 March, 12pm-4pm
JP Anglo x Serai Cuisine
The only thing better than Filipino food pioneer JP Anglo cooking in Melbourne is doing it with Serai chef Ross Magnaye. For an evening, Anglo brings everything to love about Manila restaurant Sarsa and its Dubai sister restaurant Kooya to the beating heart of Melbourne. Magic in motion with Magnaye: powerhouse plates of sizzling and pork-rich sisig, barbecued chicken inasal, and Filipino flavors dialed up to 11.
Serai Kitchen, 7 Racing Club Lane, Melbourne, Wednesday 25 March, 17.30-20.00 and 20.30-23.00
Tala at Stokehouse
Chef Henry Onesemo is bringing his successful three-hat restaurant Tala from Auckland to Melbourne, offering a rare opportunity to sample Samoan food in a fine dining setting. It will reimagine the flavors of its heritage with modern interpretations and serve them all in Stokehouse’s tranquil waterfront dining room. Exactly what’s on the menu is still under lock and key, but diners can expect things like Onesemo’s umu chicken; This is a traditional technique where hot rocks cook the bird from the inside out in a banana leaf wrap.
Stokehouse, 30 Jacka Bvd, St Kilda, dinner on Tuesday 24 March, lunch on Wednesday 25 March
Pizza Pronto: James Lowe at Figlia
Tickets sold out not long after London chef James Lowe announced he would be joining the MFWF, but there’s another opportunity to catch the Lyle founder in action. At his second Festival opening, Pizza Pronto, Lowe’s promises Hawaiian fare that comes loaded with oyster pizza, feisty dippers and scotch bonnet peppers, grilled pineapple, red onion and cured pork product guanciale, and somehow feels right at home down there.
Figlia, 335 Lygon St, Brunswick East, Thursday, March 26, sessions from 6 to 10:30 p.m.
Baker’s Dozen (free)
This two-day baking and baking extravaganza brings this year’s Festival to a close – and it’s a huge one. Sydney bread royalty holder AP Bakery taps Melbourne’s Oji House for an exclusive collaboration with MFWF. You’ve got some of Melbourne’s most amazing bakeries including but not limited to Raya, Hector’s Bakery, Lulu and Me, Lune, Madeleine De Proust, Kudo, Masses Bagels, Monforte Viennoiserie and Morning Market. You’ve got your own buttery butlers ready and waiting to lay it thick on this season’s hottest hot cross buns. Plus, baking superstar Emelia Jackson, author Helen Goh, international baking expert Phil Khoury and Tarts Anon’s Gareth Whitton take to the main stage for demonstrations, giveaways and talks you won’t want to miss.
Federation Square, Swanston St and Flinders St, Melbourne, Saturday 28 March and Sunday 29 March, 10am-3pm
