The Village Feast, the culinary carnival at the centre of the MFWF Regional Edition, is nigh, which means the coastal town of Inverloch is about to get even tastier. Featuring some of the country’s most gifted chefs, it’s set to be one helluva big day of food, drink and entertainment, and it’s yours to explore on Saturday 18 November; here’s a bunch of things you should absolutely consider eating while you’re there.
Headlining the food talent, The Cook Up’s Adam Liaw will be joining forces with Vietnamese food wonder Thi Le to bring you a bun nem nuong: a noodle bowl with grilled Vietnamese sausage, herbs, pickles, nuts and nuoc mam worth driving for.
Celebrated Sydney chef Clayton Wells is teaming up with Gippsland seafood destination Sardine Dining, putting the riches of the ocean to excellent use in two dishes: 90 Mile Beach whitebait with jalapeño aioli and orange salt, and the Sardine sando, featuring crumbed Lakes Entratnce Mitchelson sardines and Japanese tartare sauce on a milk bun.
Everyone’s favourite MasterChef alum Emelia Jackson is joining The Invy Baker in a collaboration set to yield two different traditional Swedish buns – a cinnamon number and a cardamom. They’ll also be whipping up Danish pastries with Chippin Estate rhubarb, frangipane and lemon mascarpone; choux au craquelin with strawberries, cream and a Gippsland Jersey vanilla chantilly; and a Cuvée chocolate éclair with vanilla crème pâtissière, whipped chocolate ganache and raspberries – all available to take home.
In huge news for pizza fiends, Melbourne mavericks Leonardo’s Pizza Palace will be going B2B with beloved local slicemongers Trulli all day long. Leonardo’s’ stracciatella pie comes emboldened with pepperoni chilli crisp, caponata, mint, and pizza-dough cracker, while Trulli will be riffing on vitello tonnato with a pizza featuring smoked Cherry Tree beef carpaccio, tuna dressing and capers. The two will also collaborate on a cannoli filled with house-made mascarpone and Love in a Jar strawberry and rhubarb jam.
Paul Carmichael, the trailblazer who led Momofuku Seiobo’s celebration of Caribbean food to world acclaim, is working with local-boy-made-good Nick Mahlook and his Sodafish crew to bring you a ceviche of local white fish with achiote and succulents. They’ll also be teaming up for barbecued Bass Strait scallops with hot sauce, and a chickpea and pumpkin curry served with crisp potato.
It generally ain’t a party without tacos, which is why we’ve called on two stalwarts of Australian Mexican food, Juanita Peaches’ Raph Rashid and the gang from Sydney’s Ricos Tacos, for a trio of tacos packed with flavour. Will it be the fish, the goat, or the potato dorados? Trick question; it will, of course, be all three.
And when exquisite meat counts, it simply must be Armadale’s Victor Churchill. They’ll be teaming up with local dining institution Hogget Kitchen for eye fillet tartare with potato rye crisp; a ploughman’s plate brimming with local produce; Wattle Bank Farm oyster mushroom tarts; and Seaview Park Ryland lamb empanadas served with chimichurri.
The Village Feast draws near, and it’s time to start planning your appetite. Let’s hit the road.
The Village Feast, Saturday 18 November The Glade, Inverloch, $35 for adults, $15 for people aged 10-17, free for people under 10 years old.
By Frank Sweet