You like to eat tasty things, you love the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival, but you don’t want to eat animals? No dramas – we’ve got events for you. How about an all-vegan take on Sydney’s usually very meaty Porteño? Or smoked earthly delights at Yan? Or falafel served with the most interesting wines being made in Lebanon today? Perhaps a sustainable five-course celebration of autumnal produce?
if you don’t eat animals or products thereof, now is a great time to make a plant-based action plan for the 10 days spanning 15 to 24 March. There are over 90 vegan- and vegetarian-friendly events to choose from; here are six pearlers to get you started.
Porteño x Smith & Daughters
The vegan queen of Collingwood Shannon Martinez invites Sydney smokemasters Elvis Abrahanowicz and Ben Milgate to leave the red meat at home but bring everything else that has made Porteño, Bodega, Bastardo, The Continental Deli and their other venues such sought-after mainstays of the harbour city’s dining world. It’s gonna be racy, it’s gonna be smoky.
19 March, Smith & Daughters, 107 Cambridge St, Collingwood
Grano y Tierra
Abbotsford’s home of fresh frothies and Latin American eats, Bodriggy goes vegetarian for one special Festival evening. In partnership with Collingwood Children’s Farm, chef Johnny Domingues (an alum of Dinner by Heston) and the brewery team present a four-course Latin American menu enriched by locally foraged Australian flora.
21 March, Bodriggy Brewing Co, 245 Johnston St, Abbotsford
Smoked Earthly Delights at Yan: Vegan Showcase
A five-course celebration of sustainable dining and plant-based culinary artistry, laced with smoke. Asian-inspired and 100 per cent vegan.
15-21 March, Yan, 22 Toorak Rd, South Yarra
Falafel and Funk
The Rumi crew presents the Rocket Society, serving up even more of their trademark modern Lebanese magic, with extra falafel and flights of some of Lebanon’s most interesting wines.
17 March, Rocket Society Wine Bar, 2 Village Ave, East Brunswick Village, Brunswick East
Whisky Ice-Cream Social
Kinglake single malt paired with Beechworth honeycomb ice-cream. The Gospel Rye with Mildura citrus sorbet. Whisky & Alement celebrates 10 years of better drams by pairing Victorian whiskies with Billy Van Creamy ice-cream inspired by the region where the whisky is made.
16–17 March, Whisky and Alement, 270 Russell St, Melbourne
Painting Plates and Eating Cakes at Robert Gordon
Paint plates, drink bubbles and eat cake. The instructions are simple, the results artful and delicious. A lesson in painting pottery with celebrated ceramicists Robert Gordon and the chance to design and decorate an Australian-made cake plate to keep, followed by a delightful high tea at Nancy Eatery.
20–21 March, Robert Gordon Pottery, 114 Mulcahy Rd, Pakenham