FOOD & DRINK, ARTS & CULTURE, LIFE & TRAVEL
After winning 24 Double Gold medals in 2 years, Starward goes even bigger with its recent unveiling of a brand-new distillery tour and bar experience.
Get ready for an extraordinary culinary journey this New Year’s Eve at Stokehouse. With a curated 4-course dinner by executive chef Jason Staudt, this dining experience promises to be truly unforgettable. Starting from 7pm, guests will have the opportunity to indulge in opulent pre-dinner delights at STOKEBAR. Picture yourself savoring freshly shucked oysters and premium canapés, perfectly complemented by the light and crisp tones of Pol Roger champagne or one of Stokehouse’s signature cocktails. Once seated, prepare to be wowed by a stunning caviar service featuring Polanco Oscietra caviar, harvested in Uruguay and adorned with Stokehouse’s unique garnishes. Following this luxurious starter, guests will be treated to a show-stopping dish of poached southern rock lobster, melon gazpacho, and buffalo curd, all crafted using locally and sustainably sourced ingredients. For the main course, guests can choose between two premium options: an aged and glazed Macedon Ranges duck or King George whiting with summer peas and salmon roe caviar butter. These dishes will be accompanied by a choice of two sides, including a refreshing Ramarro farm tomato and stone fruit salad, as well as hot chips with citrus salt. To cleanse the palate, a refreshing lemon sorbet with Bellarine extra virgin olive oil will be served before moving on to the grand finale. Indulge in a popcorn mille-feuille with salted caramel ganache and old-fashioned baba, meticulously crafted by Head Pastry Chef Ash Smith. This decadent dessert is the perfect ending to an extraordinary dining experience. As you celebrate the new year, Stokehouse’s extensive cellar offers a wide… Read More
Australia’s crown jewel in the culinary world, Vue de monde, alongside its sibling bar, Lui, and premier event space, are back at Melbourne’s Rialto Towers, unveiling their fresh and exciting new faces after a three-month hiatus. Vue de monde, renowned at both national and international levels, presents a distinctive dining room and a kitchen that have both been significantly revitalised. Executive chef, Hugh Allen, shares his enthusiasm over the improvements, “The transformation of Vue de monde and Lui Bar, a project several years in the making, is finally complete. The hiatus provided us with the time we needed to craft exquisite menus for both the restaurant and the bar. We eagerly await our loyal clientele’s reactions to the changes and look forward to welcoming new guests to our venues.” Vue de monde, under the leadership of Executive Chef Hugh Allen and General Manager Hugo Simoes, introduces an all-new 18-serving menu. This menu harmoniously mingles familiarity and innovation, continuing Vue de monde’s tradition of showcasing top-notch Australian producers. Lavish dishes include grilled lamb sweetbreads paired with asparagus from Koo Wee Rup and fermented macadamia sauce; padrón peppers stuffed with heirloom eggplant cooked in wild nasturtium oil, and a decadent two-part marron serving. The dining room now boasts signature Vue de monde tables by Ross Didier and kangaroo hide table tops by Theo Hassett, enhanced lighting, and an overhauled private dining room featuring a bespoke hand-blown light feature by Leisa Wharington. The open kitchen, a long-standing Vue de monde signature, also receives a major upgrade. Lui Bar,… Read More
This year, the Jewish International Film Festival (JIFF) returns to Australian screens from 23 October – 6 December, presenting a diverse array of enchanting and enlightening tales from Jewish cinema worldwide. Boasting 55 Australian premiere films from 19 countries, the Festival programme includes 30 feature films, 20 documentaries, two series, and six short films, alongside a suite of live events across Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, Canberra, Hobart, and the Gold Coast. According to Artistic Director Eddie Tamir, the 2023 JIFF reflects the timeless resilience and adaptability of the Jewish spirit, offering a remarkable line-up of films from the deepest roots of Yiddish culture to Australian stories and boundary-pushing tales. He described the Festival as an immersive journey that reflects on the past and acts as a beacon for the future. The Festival begins with the Australian Premiere of ‘Matchmaking,’ Israel’s biggest blockbuster of 2023. This romantic comedy, directed by the mastermind behind ‘Magic Men’, has won the Audience Award at the Miami Jewish Film Festival and takes audiences on a journey with Moti Bernstein, an Ashkenazi ideal who defies tradition for Nechama, a Mizrahi beauty. As for Australian stories, JIFF 2023 invites audiences to delve deep into history and emotion. ‘Revenge: Our Dad the Nazi Killer’ thrusts viewers into the post-WWII era, where three brothers uncover their father’s suspected revenge spree against Nazis. The closing night film, ‘The Jewish Nazi?’, follows the astounding journey of Alex Kurzem, made “Hitler’s youngest soldier” by a Latvian Nazi battalion after the massacre of his Belarusian family. The Festival’s… Read More
For the first time in over a decade, Bell Shakespeare presents a thrilling new production of King Lear. Staging this epic work in an intimate setting promises Australian audiences a fresh and captivating experience unlike any before. Bell Shakespeare’s 2024 season also sees the triumphant return of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, set to tour at over 23 venues throughout the nation. This ambitious undertaking aims to reach areas it failed to visit in 2021 due to the pandemic-related disruptions. Artistic Director Peter Evans adds a thought-provoking dimension to the season with In A Nutshell: The Poetry of Violence, exploring Shakespeare’s depictions of violence. In an energetic statement, Artistic Director Peter Evans said, “Welcome to Season 2024, where we relish Shakespeare’s highest achievements in the ridiculous and the sublime: A Midsummer Night’s Dream and King Lear. The season promises a unique blend of the familiar and the new, comedy and tragedy, the ridiculous and the sublime.” Kicking off the season at the Sydney Opera House from 6 – 30 March, Shakespeare’s classic comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream promises magic, mirth, and mayhem. This production, which had already toured to several regional venues in Australia in 2021 before COVID border closures disrupted remaining dates, is set to return in 2024 at 23 venues across New South Wales, Western Australia, Victoria, and the ACT. After a lengthy hiatus since 2010, King Lear, directed by Peter Evans and starring Robert Menzies (Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet) in the titular role, is set to make a grand comeback. Premiering in Sydney… Read More
Sometimes brunch can be boring. To remedy that, you need a little glitter in your life. Enter The Smith Prahran, offering up Sunday brunch options that serve food, yeah, but offer up the snacks the likes of Max Drag Queen up as the main dish in all her glamorous glory. A two-hour brunch package that includes a brunch dish and bottomless spritzes, you’ll be entertained by Max and Jaw Breakers’ DJs Kali and Sabrina. For the menu and to make a booking, head to The Smith Prahran’s website.
Seaworks on the Williamstown foreshore is host to this year’s annual Wine and Cheese Festival, that will put more than 50 wineries, cheesemakers and artisan food producers on show. They’ll be on-hand to showcase gourmet goodies, plus one of a kind masterclasses from the region’s award-winning winemakers and cheese producers. George Linguanti of That’s Amore Cheese will have guests drooling as he performs a live demonstration of mozzarella making and you’ll hear the clinking of wine glasses as Mount Avoca’s Matthew Barry takes guests on a journey during his masterclass – “Taste 100 Years of Wines.” The festival’s popular Grape Stomp Comp is returning, with a mouth-watering prize pack filled with cheese, wine and artisan goodies from all corners of Victoria up for grabs. Wine and Cheese Fest is children friendly complete with a Kids Zone with face painting and games. Tickets also include free tastings, sampling and a take-home wine glass. Find the festival on Saturday, 9 Marc, 11am-6pm at Seaworks, 82 Nelson Place, Williamstown.
With summer now a distant memory thanks to the temperature dipping into single digits, what better way to get over the winter blues than with a glass of red and food from some of Australia’s top chefs at this month’s Good Food Month Melbourne? And we all know if there’s one thing Melbourne does well, it’s food and wine. For the next two weeks, Melbourne Palms, a palms-inspired pop up restaurant nestled right in the action of Federation Square will play host to exciting events with home-grown culinary greats including a stellar line-up. Join the likes of Alla Wolf-Tasker from The Lake House, Daylesford and Andrew McConnell (Supernormal, Cumulus, Cutler & Co., Melbourne), a pasta party with Andreas Papadakis of Tipo 00, Melbourne, Mitch Orr (ACME, Sydney) and Joel Valvasori-Pereza(Lulu La Delizia, Perth), and a fish butchery masterclass with Josh Niland (Saint Peter, Sydney), just to name a few. There’s even still a few highlights for the month still available, like Brunch with Josh Niland (Sunday 17 June, 10.30am, $70), One Fish, One Chef with Josh Niland (Sunday 17 June, 2pm, $80?), Date Night with 8-Bit & Glacé Frozen (Friday 22 June, 6.30pm, $60?) and Cutler & Co: An evening at the Cutler & Co Bar (Wednesday 20 June, $75) that includes an incredible offering. Josh Niland’s brunch is with the two-hatted chef, the seafood king behind Saint Peter in Sydney’s Paddington and winner of the 2018 Good Food Guide’s ‘Best New Restaurant of the Year’ award. You’ll hear about his strong focus on the importance of locally sourced, sustainable food and inspiration behind his expertly crafted sustainable seafood dishes,… Read More
