The Age Good Food Month

The Age Good Food Month

The Age Good Food Month presented by Citi will take over Melbourne and regional Victoria from November 1-31, 2016 with new one-off events plus tried-and-true favourites, including Hats Off Dinners and Let's Do Lunch making this November the most delicious to date.

The program is out now and available online at goodfoodmonth.com, featuring more than 100 events including finger-licking hot chicken parties, banquet feasts and  a roll call of Victoria's best restaurants and chefs including program cover stars Matt Wilkinson, Ben Shewry, Stephanie Alexander and David Moyle.

Top international chef Fergus Henderson of St John (London) will be creating a picnic like Melburnians have never experienced before with local favourites including Matt Wilkinson of Pope Joan and Anthony Femia of Maker & Monger at the Spring Social presented by Pimm's on Sunday, November 27 for $95 per person at Rippon Lea Estate, Elsternwick.

November will also see two of the World's 50 Best Restaurants meet in Melbourne for an unforgettable night of dining (November 24). Virgillo Martinez of Central, Lima is set to join forces with Melbourne's Attica to create dishes driven by native Peruvian and Australian ingredients. Tickets are $395 per person and include a copy of Martinez's new cookbook Central.

The Age Good Food Month Creative Director, Gemima Cody said this year's festival could be described as a -delicious ride' given the breadth and quality of events.

'The program is star-spangled with home-grown talent, international heavyweights and legendary chefs making it the most impressive Melbourne Good Food Month to date," Cody said.

Citi returns in 2016 as the national presenting partner of Good Food Month. Director of the Global Experience Team for Citi Australia Tanya Smith said: 'Citi is proud to be the national presenting partner of Good Food Month. We are delighted to see this evolving food festival return to Melbourne in what is sure to be the biggest and best yet. Our national partnership with Fairfax and Good Food Month, together with our Citibank Dining Program, are prime examples of how Citi supports the Australian food and wine industry, which remains a strategic focus for Citi.

'We are thrilled to provide Citi customers a wide range of exclusive benefits during Good Food Month, including access to our popular Citi VIP area at this year's Night Noodle Markets."

More information on feature events is available below, as well as in the program, and goodfoodmonth.com will be kept constantly up to date as new events join.

Feature Events

Night Noodle Markets

Thursday, November 10 – Sunday, November 27 (free entry)

The crowd favourite Night Noodle Markets are back in 2017 with stalls from Melbourne favourites Chin Chin, Wanderbao, Hoy Pinoy and desserts from Gelato Messina and Black Star Pastry x N2 Extreme Gelato. Aunty Franklee and Ok-Nomi will be joining the stellar stallholder line up while DJs and live music will be on hand to entertain all night long.

From the Vault presented by Yalumba

Friday, November 11; 6:30pm start ($250)

Five incredible chefs including Stephanie Alexander, Tansy Good, Jacques Reymond, Anthony Lui and Guy Grossi will unite for a once-in-a-lifetime event that will combine a rare tasting of Yalumba's museum collection with a six-course dinner showcasing a signature dish from each chef.

Young Chefs Lunch

Sunday, November 20; noon – 3pm ($190)

Enjoy a five-course lunch, hosted by Oter, from Victoria's hottest up-and-coming chefs – Jake Kellie from The Lakeside Mill, Jasper Avent from Carlton's Town Mouse, Alex Xinis from The Press Club and the 2017 Young Chef of the Year, Jarrod Di Blasi of ezard.

Preview of Longsong

Friday, November 18; 6pm ($60)

Get a sneak peek at one of the biggest openings of 2017: the long-awaited upstairs bar to Melbourne's mod-Thai hero Longrain. Join David Moyle, the chef who has set Tasmania's dining scene alight with Franklin in Hobart, as he plates up an exclusive preview of Longsong's Thai-leaning menu along with cocktails, beers and wines, months before the venue opens to the public.

Beer Pong with May Chow presented by Cathay Pacific

Wednesday, October 26; 6pm ($95)

Ping pong diehards take note: for one night only Supernormal will transform their restaurant into a leisure arena of cold beers, live beats and of course, table tennis. The beer will flow whilst the Supernormal ball boys and girls serve up snacks by May Chow (of Hong Kong's Little Bao fame) alongside Supernormal staples by Andrew McConnell and head chef Perry Schagen. They're also bringing in the big guns – Australia's table tennis titleholders – so you can drink beers and test just exactly how much that ups your game.

www.goodfoodmonth.com