Melbourne dines out on its food and wine reputation

Melbourne dines out on its food and wine reputation

Tourism Victoria 18 June 2010

Described as the culinary engine room of Australia, Melbourne has a long-held reputation for its wide array of quality dining options, ethnic diversity and accessible wine regions and farm gates right on its doorstep.

As leading international chef and food commentator Anthony Bourdain noted during a recent visit: "I'd rather eat in Melbourne than Paris...Everyone has a favourite place and in Australia, Melbourne is mine."

Internationally acclaimed chefs, fresh produce, and great quality venues - from casual suburban cafes through to top-end fine dining restaurants - cater to all tastes.

Melbourne is home to many leading chefs who have helped cement the city as a must-visit food destination, while its cooking schools turn out many talented hospitality graduates.

The state's regions provide a rich food bowl and a steady stream of produce for the regular farmers' markets scattered around the city.

"General consensus is that it's all about the ingredients here," Bourdain says. "And the general excellence of their reasonably priced places."

The city also hosts the Melbourne International Food and Wine Festival, an annual event showcasing the best produce, talent and lifestyle, the largest of its kind in the world, which has been running for 18 years.

The 2010 festival attracted more than 400,000 people to 250 events across 12 days, with a program including events and master classes hosted by such international food luminaries as Danish chef Mads Refslund, conceptual Italian chef Massimo Bottura, Boston spice queen Ana Sortun, Korean-American chef David Chang, Japanese restaurant champion Nobu Matsuhisa, Greek New Yorker Michael Psilakis and American pastry chef Nancy Silverton.

"Melbourne is truly an international melting pot of food and culture," said visiting chef Michael Psilakis, who runs three hot New York restaurants, including the ground-breaking, Michelin-starred Anthos.

New Zealand chef Rex Morgan, from the Boulcott Street Bistro in Wellington, concurred. "I am blown away by the honesty and passion of the food culture in Melbourne," he said. "Behind every restaurant and its chef there is a story to be told that goes way beyond just eating and drinking good food and wine."

Leading UK chef Gordon Ramsay also chose Melbourne for the opening of his first Australian restaurant, maze, at the new Crown Metropol hotel last month.

"Having opened restaurants in New York, London, Cape Town and Doha and having seen Melbourne grow into such a dynamic culinary city, I could not be more excited to be a part of the action. Seeing Melbourne's maze and maze Grill open is a dream come true," Ramsay said.

Other popular Melbourne dining options include wagyu beef at Nobu, contemporary French cuisine at Vue de monde, stylish Greek fare at The Press Club, quality Cantonese at the Flower Drum and Spanish-style tapas at MoVida.

Alternatively, visitors can head for the bustling Vietnamese precinct in Richmond's Victoria Street, find a table in Melbourne's Chinatown district, trawl the Middle Eastern cafes and cake shops in Sydney Road or pick up some humble fresh fish and chips on the St Kilda pier.

Melbourne's reputation for food is greatly enhanced by the proximity of superb wine-growing regions nearby, including the picturesque Yarra Valley and Mornington Peninsula, which are renowned for their cool-climate wines, including pinot noir, sauvignon blanc and sparkling varieties.

Just an hour's drive from the city visitors can drop in to a cellar door to sample some wine direct from the winemaker, pick up fresh cheese, fruit and vegetables at a farm gate or simply sit back and enjoy a leisurely lunch overlooking a vineyard, with a premium quality glass of wine in hand.


For media enquiries contact Amy Skelding, Lucy Pennington, Debbie Hindle askelding@bgb.co.uk / lpennington@bgb.co.uk / dhindle@bgb.co.uk 0207 902 2990

Corporate website: www.tourismvictoria.com.au
Consumer website: www.visitmelbourne.com/uk

 

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