World’s Longest Dinner 2026

The World's Longest Dinner is a new chapter in the story of Melbourne Food & Wine Festival's flagship event. Inspired by the legendary World's Longest Lunch, a festival fixture that has brought thousands of diners together in landmark settings across Victoria since 1994, this is a more curated affair. It's the meeting of three incredible new culinary talents with 400 guests over canapés and three courses positioned for maximum surprise and delight against the backdrop of one of Chadstone’s most glamorous avenues, amidst installations from some truly original players in the art world.

Chadstone is all about balancing timeless elegance with the fashions of the moment, and in that spirit we’ve invited three of the most exciting young chefs working in Melbourne right now to write the menu. Nat Thaipun, MasterChef Australia winner, Vue de Monde chef, best-selling author, and one of the most followed culinary voices in the country, brings her Thai-Australian heritage to the table. Audrey Shaw, the architect-turned-chef behind Fitzroy's Carnation Canteen and new Carlton hotspot Bar Carnation, brings the kind of seasonal, produce-driven deliciousness that has made her one of the city's most talked-about cooks. And HyoJu Park, former head pastry chef at Attica and founder of cult Carlton patisserie Madeleine de Proust, closes the evening with a course that draws on her Korean roots and training in some of the world's best kitchens.

Together, they represent something essential about Melbourne dining in 2026: that the city's most compelling food is coming from diverse voices with global credentials and deeply personal points of view. Over canapés, entrée, main course and dessert you’ll get to know these three brilliant talents, each course complemented by a drink from a favourite producer of our chefs.

The pleasures of World’s Longest Dinner extend beyond the glass and the plate, too. The dinner is a cornerstone of Light to Night, Chadstone’s bold new festival of art, food and music, and offers an unparalleled opportunity to experience some of the festival’s highlights, including a major new immersive collaboration with celebrated Victorian artist Rone titled Home, as well as Through the Looking Glass, a mind-bending dichroic glass and lightwork from artist Dean Norton in collaboration with Studio John Fish.

And it gets better, friends: every single guest receives a copy of HyoJu Park's "Madeleines" cookbook or Nat Thaipun's "Thai"; you'll also leave the event with a gift bag worth $150, and every ticket buyer goes in the running to win a night’s accommodation at Hotel Chadstone and a $500 Chadstone shopping voucher.

If you’d like to connect with three of Australia’s most exciting new culinary voices all at once, or if you’re simply looking for something special to celebrate this winter, look no further – World’s Longest Dinner at Light to Night is the event of the season. We can’t wait to see you there.

See terms and conditions here