Alex Atala

Treasures of the Rainforest

South America’s most exciting chef (D.O.M.,Sao Paolo) proves that the ancient flavours of the Amazon can be as cutting-edge as contemporary three-star cuisine, from homely tapioca and the simple Brazil nut, to the exotic heart of palm. Expect a few surprises from this high-energy punk rock DJ-turned-chef?

Moderator: Jacques Reymond

Massimo Bottura        

Paint it Black…with Aceto Balsamico

Mischievous conceptual Italian chef Massimo Bottura applies his usual textural, theatrical, abstract thinking to balsamic vinegar, a speciality of his home town of Modena. Like the modern art that adorns his two Michelin star restaurant Osteria Francescana, expect food that looks – and tastes - provocative, personal, and passionate.

Moderator: Jill Dupleix

Claude Bosi

Mixed Marriages

Can smoked eel find happiness with roast beef and Irish moss? Will crab ever settle down with elderflowers and licorice? Do sea trout, pigs head and eucalyptus have anything in common? How does mutton feel about feta and anchovy jus? Claude Bosi of London’s Hibiscus is the master of mixed marriages, winning two Michelin stars for turning unlikely partnerships into natural companions.

Moderator: Nicolas Poelaert

Ian Burch and Darren Purchese

New Ways with an Old Obsession

Australia’s most notorious pastry chefs Darren Purchese and Ian Burch don’t believe in death by chocolate. They live by it instead, breathing new life and energy into modern chocolatiering, and promising to show us a few new tricks that will revolutionise our own entertaining. If you eat anything as long as it is brown, this is for you.

Moderator: Adriano Zumbo

David Chang

New Food, New York

Can a young, iconoclastic Korean/American chef show us the future of American food? At New York’s Momofuku, Dave Chang mixes funky Korean food and down-home country-cured Kentucky hams with serious wines, loud music and communal tables. Watch as this self-confessed ‘bad-ass’ chef forces east to meet west, and old to meet new – and gets away with it.?

Moderator: Andrew McConnell

David's visit made possible through the support of the U.S. Consulate General.

Gontran Cherrier

The Fabulous Baker Boy

Fourth generation boulanger (baker), celebrated author and French Cuisine TV star Gontran Cherrier will share with you the art of viennoiserie, those irresistible bakery products based on fine French pastry. Watch, learn – and taste! - as he promises to show you a few tricks that will take the mystery out of your own pastry work at home.

Moderator: Gabriel Gate

Josiah Citrin

LA Confidential

Josiah Citrin of Mélisse spills the beans on what it’s like to be a two-star Michelin chef (like winning an Oscar, apparently) and local boy cooking in LaLa Land – and how he fuses French finesse and Los Angeles style to create the sort of food you want to eat whether you’re out with your grandmother, or with a Hollywood star.

Moderator:Philippe Mouchel

Josiah's visit made possible through the support of Crown.

Shane Delia

A Celebration of the Middle Eastern Table

Maha’s Shane Delia wants us all to gather around the table for celebratory feasts of small plates, slow roasts, warm breads, spicy dips and fragrant rice dishes, all imbued with the seductive spices of the Middle East. ‘As long as I have good food, and family and friends to share it with, my life is complete’ he says.

Moderator: George Calombaris

Adam D'Sylva        

Wham bam, nuoc mam!

Hot new Melbourne star and co-owner of Coda, Adam D’Sylva is the go-to man for fresh, lively streetwise-but-glam Vietnamese food. Explore the world of fish sauce, fresh betel leaves and tropical sugarcane as you discover just how fresh and fragrant (and fabulous) Vietnamese food can be in the hands of a very twenty-first century chef.

Moderator: Christine Manfield

Peter Gilmore

Session: Grace and Flavour

At Sydney’s acclaimed Quay restaurant, Peter Gilmore’s graceful, harmonious, nature-based cuisine fights for attention with the beautiful harbour views – and still wins hands-down, as every mouthful reveals layer upon layer of flavour. Look, learn and, best of all, taste this truly great chef’s beautifully balanced food, with its almost Asian respect for texture.

Moderator: Saturday - Matthew Evans, Sunday - Jane Lawson

Guy Grossi        

Guy Grossi’s new beef

Our own Italian maestro Guy Grossi introduces us to the slow-growing Tuscan Chianina, setting out to prove that the world’s oldest breed of cattle (famed for centuries as Tuscany’s bistecca alla fiorentina) ) deserves a place of its own on the Australian table. Expect a sizzling session as Guy premieres the new bistecca alla Victoriana.

Moderator: Daniela Mollica 

David Kinch 

California Dreaming

David is one of the leading proponents of modern Californian cuisine, with a philosophy deeply rooted in the local terroir. Watch as this compellingly modern two Michelin star chef talks about how the changing seasons constantly inspire him with the changing shapes, textures and flavours of his farm-to-table produce.

David's visit made possible through the support of Crown.

Thomasina Miers     

New Mexico

Mexican food has at last come of age.  Come and learn the ancient food of the Aztecs, as Tommi Miers of London’s Wahaca Mexican cantina showcases some of her modern Mexican favourites, from slow-cooked lamb barbacoa with the hottest salsa ever, to citrussy-fresh ceviche tostadas and smoky crab fideus – plus the low-down on how the Mexicans really drink tequila. 

Moderator: Frank Camorra

Rex Morgan

100% Pure New Zealand

The very modern blend of Maori heritage and French training means New Zealand chef Rex Morgan is just as happy knocking out modern bistro dishes made of New Zealand’s superb produce – lamb, kumara, avocado oil – as he is coming up with dishes that express the special qualities of Maori culture, using horopito (bush pepper), fern tips and kelp pepper.

Moderator: Michael Meredith

Rex's visit made possible through the support of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise.

Neil Perry

The Steak and The Sizzle

Dry-aged, full blood, 300-day grain-fed, double-bred, pure blood, +9 marble scores…the steak is no longer simple. For the first time in MasterClass history, we go off-campus for a session that promises plenty of sizzle and not a little steak. Gather around the chargrill at Rockpool Bar & Grill with Australia’s fiercest ambassador of quality meat, Neil Perry, and the country’s foremost producer of 100% full blood Japanese Wagyu beef, David Blackmore, to explore the wonderful world of Wagyu and taste the difference for yourself. (And before you taste, says David, you should inhale its aroma as if it were wine). Whether you’re the king of the backyard barbie or just a dedicated seeker of serious steaks, this session could change your life.

Michael Psilakis

Next-Gen Greek

Michael Psilakis of the celebrity-studded Anthos restaurant in New York puts the ancient flavours of Greece onto the modern table, reinventing old favourites for a glamorous new generation of Greek food lovers. His modern Greek cooking rethinks traditional recipes and reworks familiar ingredients, exploiting the earthy, robust, healthy Mediterranean flavours we all love so much.

Moderator: George Calombaris

Michael's visit made possible through the support of the U.S. Consulate General.

Mads Refslund

How Not To Drown Fish

Danish Michelin-starred wunderkind chef Mads Refslund hates fish ‘drowned’ in gooey sauces until all natural flavours and health-giving properties are lost. ‘The sea has a wonderful taste of its own’ he says, here to teach us how to capture the moment’ with our own increasingly precious fish, vegetables and shellfish.

Moderator: Matt Wilkinson

Ana Sortun        

Sizzle and Spice

Boston star Ana Sortun of Oleana uses Turkish and Eastern Mediterranean spices to produce food described by the New York Times as ‘rustic-traditional and deeply inventive’. She insists that traditional spice blends can make our food rich, exciting, satisfying, comforting and provocative without the need for butter or cream. We think she makes a lot of sense.

Moderator: Cath Claringbold

Ana's visit made possible through the support of City of Melbourne - celebrating 25 years of the Melbourne-Boston sister city relationship.

Nancy Silverton      

Slow fast food

Decade after decade, Nancy Silverton has revolutionised American fast food. First it was the sandwich, made with artisanal breads, then the pizza, saved from disgrace by wood-fired ovens and rustic, organic toppings. Watch as she reinvents three American ‘fast food’ favourites for us with first-rate ingredients and a canny cook’s sixth sense for balance, flavour and harmony. Fast food? Yes. Junk food? Never.

Nancy's visit made possible through the support of crown.