2003 Melbourne Food & Wine Festival is sure to whet your appetite

Fresh ideas and inspiring changes will herald the 2003 Melbourne Food & Wine Festival to be held 28 March - 13 April 2003.

The Festival will feature more than 100 events over 17 days in Melbourne and around the state, highlighting the extraordinary depth of the food and wine industry in Victoria.

The most significant change will be to Master Class - scheduled for 29 and 30 March 2003. 

After a decade of attracting the world's top chefs, winemakers, food writers and commentators, Master Class is being completely revamped. The commitment to excellence will remain but expect a name change, a contemporary program including demonstrations, workshops, dinners, a fresh line up of international and Australian chefs and a dynamic new venue.

Details of the new look Master Class will be announced in coming weeks, in the meantime some other festival highlights to whet your appetite:

World's Longest Lunch (Melbourne) & World's Longest Lunch in the Country: 28 March 2003

World's Longest Lunch in Melbourne and World's Longest Lunch In the Country will kick start the 2003 Melbourne Food & Wine Festival, a program change from previous years.

Considered one of the icon events of the Festival, the World's Longest Lunch attracts some 4,000 people who sit down to a three-course luncheon at one continuous table in Melbourne and at 25 locations across Victoria.

New Quay complex at Docklands will host the World's Longest Lunch in Melbourne. Approximately 1,000 people will 'do lunch' - a 3-course feast 
created by Le Deux Catering, matched with Deakin Estate wines, Monte Coffee and San Pellegrino Mineral Water.

World's Longest Lunch In The Country will take place in 25 regional towns including:

Albury Wodonga, Ballarat, Bendigo, Castlemaine, Colac, Echuca, Falls Creek, Geelong, Gippsland, Grampians, Macedon Ranges-Hanging Rock, Queenscliff, Spa Country-Glenlyon, Maryborough, Melbourne Airport, Mildura, Moonambel (in the Pyrenees), Nagambie, Paynesville, Port of Sale, Port Fairy, Red Hill, Sorrento, Warrnambool and Yarra Valley.

Time: From 12.30 pm
Date: 28 March 2003

Celebrate the Bean Coffee Festival: 30 March 2003

Now in its second year, Celebrate The Bean Coffee Festival has quickly established itself as one of the major events on the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival calendar.

It's a celebration of Melburnians' love for coffee with approximately 20 coffee specialists such as Monte Coffee, AMANTI Gourmet Coffee, Gravity, Segafredo Zanetti, Andronicus and Robert Timms assembling on the promenade at Southgate making cappuccinos, lattes and macchiatos for just $1.50 a cup. Enjoy your coffee to the sounds of caffeine inspired jazz and traditional Cuban rhythms.

If you want to make your own café style coffee at home check out the Domestic Espresso Coffee Machine Display including specialist brands Delonghi, KRUPs, and SAECO.

Free coffee-making workshops will be held on the hour, covering everything from growing and roasting coffee, to how to make sensational Italian style coffee at home. Melbourne's first 'Coffee Academy' at William Angliss Institute Of Tafe will host the coffee workshops in the Victorian Art Centres Black Box Theatre throughout the day.

Time: 10.00am - 6.00pm
Venue - On the promenade at Southgate and surrounding precinct
Cost - Coffee $1.50 per cup, workshops free

Hawkers' Market: 31 March - 2 April 2003

Hawkers' Market brings the Asian street market to Melbourne all under one roof at the Queen Victoria Market.

Twelve participating Asian restaurants offer a menu of over 60 authentic dishes such as a fiery Mongolian barbecue, Peking Duck, curries, noodles, spicy sambals and sushi.

Hawkers' Market is the 'People's Event' of the Festival and attracts some 14,000 people over the three nights and includes ongoing entertainment featuring Indian dancers, noodle making demonstrations, tumblers, musicians and a Chinese dragon.

Time: 2 sessions per night: 6 - 8 pm, 8.30 - 10.30pm
Venue: Queen Victoria Market

The Big Taste Out - Cellar Door and the Southgate Chefs On Show. 5 - 6 April 2003

More than 40 vineyards (from small boutique wineries to well established operations) will bring their cellar door to the Southgate promenade and offer more than 200 wines to taste on the weekend of 5 & 6 April 2003.

A new addition is The Victorian Arts Centre Tasting Marquee, where Victorian winemakers, wine writers and commentators will present tutored tastings throughout the weekend. Huon Hooke and Ralph Kyte-Powell will be the moderators for the event.

There will be four 45 minute sessions running at 12 noon, 1.15 pm, 2.30 pm and 4.30 pm. There will be six wines tasted per session and places are limited to 40 people per session.

Also, Southgate's top chefs will leave their kitchens to create their signature dishes on stage, matching food with wine throughout the weekend. Celebrity chefs will host the cooking demonstrations.

Time: 11am - 6.00pm
Venue - On the promenade at Southgate and surrounding precinct

Stirring The Pots: 12 April 2003

The Festival's cook-off, Stirring The Pots, calls competitors (both amateur and professional) to Prahran Market in a quest to find the best pasta dish. It's an opportunity to show off your culinary skills and have fun.

Two sessions are held: one for professional chefs, caterers and teachers; the other for dedicated home and amateur cooks.

Each competitor has 40 minutes to prepare, cook and present their finished pasta dish, including sauce and flavourings.

Anyone can enter the competition; entry forms are available at the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival office.

Venue: Courtyard at Prahran Market, 163 Commercial Rd, South Yarra

Breakfast Around The Tan: 13 April 

Breakfast Around The Tan is a great way to start the day - get some exercise and indulge in a hearty breakfast.

Set around the beautiful Royal Botanic Gardens, families, couples and well mannered dogs on leads can enjoy a leisurely stroll or (brisk walk) around the 3.7 kilometre track, made all the more pleasurable by the progressive brekky along the way.

The breakfast menu is guaranteed to fill. There's fruit juice, fruit, yoghurt, cereal, plus a hot breakfast which may include scrambled eggs and bacon, sausages and tomatoes, sweet pastries, tea and coffee and a glass of wine to celebrate the finish. Doggy snacks are also available.

Staggered Starting Time: 8am, 9am, 10am, and 10.30am
Venue: The Tan, Royal Botanic Gardens