\u201cWe wouldn\u2019t be much of a food and drink festival, if the food and drink wasn\u2019t interesting,\u201d starts Melbourne Food and Wine Festival Creative Director Pat Nourse.<\/p>\n
Nourse is speaking to Hospitality about the World\u2019s Longest Dinner. Set to take place on Wednesday 17 June, Nourse says the new event is inspired by the World\u2019s Longest Lunch, which has been a fixture at the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival since its inception in 1993.<\/p>\n
The dinner will see 400 people gather at Chadstone, with three prominent young chefs working together to produce a menu that Nourse says he cannot wait to eat again.<\/p>\n
The chef talent includes MasterChef Australia\u00a0Winner and Vue de Monde Chef Nat Thaipun, Carnation Canteen Chef Audrey Shaw, and Madeleine de Proust Founder and Former Attica Head Pastry Chef HyoJu Park.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a really exciting event. The food and drink is going to be great, and it\u2019s a showcase of three food talents who I think are, it\u2019s fair to say, some of the most exciting new voices in food in Australia,\u201d says Nourse.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe food is essential, it\u2019s the thing that gets people through the doors, and we asked them [the chefs] to give us a few names of winemakers that they love, who are interesting, and up-and-coming here in Victoria. We\u2019ve ended up at a really good place with those drinks as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
The event will kick off with canapes designed by the three chefs, including kangaroo laab tartlet with toasted rice, fish sauce and mint; scallops on the half shell with piquillo peppers and fennel seed; and goug\u00e8res with cheese and Victorian black truffle.<\/p>\n
The canapes will be paired with a sparkling Chardonnay from Nadeson Collis.<\/p>\n
The entr\u00e9e, crafted by Thaipun, is Victorian snapper with kombu oil, ginger, and grapefruit, paired with a Warragul Sauvignon Blanc S\u00e9millon from Entropy Wines, which Nourse says is \u201ca little bit unusual, super delicious, and shows off how interesting Sauvignon Blanc can be\u201d.<\/p>\n
The main course, led by Shaw, includes a roasted aged O\u2019Connor beef with bagna cauda and braised greens; pink-leaf salad with citrus mustard dressing; and Dutch cream potatoes. The wine pairing for this course is a Mise en Place Syrah from Yarra Valley.<\/p>\n
\u201cAudrey\u2019s main course is so generous, and so delicious. I\u2019m really excited to showcase Victorian beef, it\u2019s just so flavorsome and it\u2019s got the right amount of tenderness,\u201d says Nourse.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a really good time. This is what you want to be eating on a wintery night in Melbourne, with 400 of your closest friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
The dessert, created by Park, includes a\u00a0Light to Night moon blanc with chestnut mousse, blackcurrant, and charcoal sable. The dessert will be paired with a Light to Nightcap cocktail developed by Nick Tesar which features Marionette Nocino, dry cassis, and Gospel Solera Rye with cacao.<\/p>\n
Nourse says the festival has often \u201ckicked around\u201d ideas for how they can build on the world\u2019s longest lunch.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere we are. I think everyone who goes will be blown away, like I was,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s nice when these things really come together. It\u2019s one of the best parts of the jobs \u2013 getting smart, creative, and interesting talent together. It\u2019s a real blessing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have every reason to believe that this one is going to be a smash, and hopefully there are more like it.\u201d<\/p>\n
To find out more about the World\u2019s Longest Dinner, visit here<\/a>.<\/p>\n For exclusive hospitality news every Tuesday and Thursday, subscribe\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0or follow us on\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n