“I’ll always be a pop-up man,” Sleepy’s Cafe and Wine Bar owner Steve Chan tells Broadsheet.

The chef-owner is putting this to the test as he prepares to host five nights of consecutive pop-ups from Wednesday May 29 until Sunday June 2 in a series he’s calling Corks and Forks.

Each night Chan will host a different chef at his Carlton North wine bar. He’s also invited Lo-Fi Wines to take over the wine list during the series, which Chan describes as “five nights of mayhem”.

We think you might like Access. For $12 a month, join our membership program to stay in the know.

SIGN UP

On Wednesday May 29, chefs Miguel Guerrero (ex-Hotel Jesus) and Ali Besener (Rumi) will make Mexican food including al pastor tacos, kangaroo tartare on a tostada served with ancho chilli cream, queso and nasturtium, and grilled queso fresco.

On Thursday May 30, Kit Iacuzi from the Da Paolo Pizza pop-up (who has become known for his ongoing pizza residency at Bahama Gold), will offer ciabatta with herb butter, plus charcoal-cooked bombetta (stuffed pork rolls), made using pork neck, pancetta and smoked scamorza, served with pickled pine mushrooms.

Friday May 31 will see Renee Trudeau of pop-up series Little Latin Lucy and Bar Magnolia serve up birria tacos and other Latin American dishes; Saturday June 1 will see Silvio Petretti of Tipo 00 serve regional Italian dishes; and, on Sunday June 2, Chan and Guerrero will round out the series by making, in Chan’s words, “chaotic food”.

Pop-ups are a lot of work. When asked how he plans to survive the five-night extravaganza, the ever-enthusiastic Chan says, “[There’s] no need to survive when you're working with best friends.

“Dinner parties are no effort for me, and it's just five dinner parties in a row … The chefs will be the ones actually doing work,” he adds.

Walk-ins are welcome but bookings are encouraged for the Corks and Forks series.