It’s been a rough two years for Melbourne Food & Wine Festival (MFWF), but it’s making one hell of a comeback for its 30th anniversary – with a star-studded international line-up. Headlining the program is inimitable UK food personality Nigella Lawson, and while some of the bigger-ticket events have sold out, there’s still plenty to get excited about. And you don’t have to break the bank. Here’s how to make the most of it for $35 or less.

Maximum Chips
In July 2019, a very important Broadsheet investigation determined that defining minimum chips is a maximum mission.
But there’ll be no talk of “minimum” at this playful event at Queen Victoria Market – Maximum Chips is all about excess. It was originally meant to run during MFWF in 2020 and 2021, but now it’s finally going ahead as part of the 2022 program. Expect chips of the shoestring and crinkle-cut varieties, French fries, and “maybe even the sneaky potato gem”. Your ticket includes all-you-can-eat chips and a welcome drink, plus live entertainment. There’ll also be a Condiments Crew (“for all your saucing, gravy and Salt Bae needs”) and sexier-than-fruity-lexia cask wine by Hey Tomorrow.

Maximum Chips is on Friday March 25 at Queen Victoria Market. There are two sessions – 5pm to 7pm and 7.45pm to 9.45pm – and tickets are $35. Book online.

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The Big Spaghetti
The weekend after Maximum Chips, the focus will shift to pasta at Queen Victoria Market. At the family-friendly pasta party, you can carb-load with cacio e pepe tortellini from Al Dente, the newest dishes from Tipo 00 and Marameo’s “kapow” spaghetti (with garlic, chilli and parmesan). Plus, four-cheese spaghetti tossed in a 40-kilogram wheel of Grana Padano. Yes. Sydney’s Paski – one of the city’s hottest new restaurants – is also making a cameo appearance. There’ll be more than 20 pasta dishes from 10 stalls. Pidapipo’s taking care of dessert, there’s a “pasta playground” for kids, and top chefs will be hosting talks and demos to share their pasta tips and tricks.

The Big Spaghetti is on Saturday April 2 from 11am to 8pm, and Sunday April 3 from 11am to 5pm at Queen Victoria Market. Entry is free, with food and drink available to buy.

The Convenient Store
This is a convenience store with a difference. At the 10-day Queen Victoria Market pop-up, there’ll be no soggy sangas. Instead, the shelves will be stocked with grab-and-go items from some of Melbourne’s best eateries. Pick up Movida’s smoked-tomato sorbet with anchovy crumb; the new prawn-cocktail flavour from Chappy’s Chips, served with caviar; baked goods from Monforte Viennoiserie, Falco and To Be Frank; Pie Thief’s famous dim-sim sausage roll; and onigiri from a slick sushi train. The magnum opus? A hulking deli-style “motherlode” sandwich stacked with cold-cuts and cheese from every single deli in Queen Victoria Market. It’s “truly a sandwich to be reckoned with”, says MFWF creative director Pat Nourse.

The Convenient Store runs from Friday March 25 to Sunday April 3 at Queen Victoria Market. Entry is free, with food and drink available to buy.

Rising Stars
At MFWF’s purpose-built bar at Queen Victoria Market, this event – Rising Stars – will put four of the city’s most exciting young chefs front and centre across both weekends of the festival. On March 26, New Quarter head chef Scott Lord is serving hot-chicken croquettes with Laughing Cow cheese and nuoc mam “caviar” (not the real stuff, but little nuoc-mam spheres that will pop in your mouth). Meanwhile, on April 2, Etta head chef Rosheen Kaul – who has helped make the Brunswick East restaurant an essential, downright delicious Melbourne dining experience – is bringing a hot Beijing-style chicken sandwich with pickled-green-chilli mayonnaise and iceberg lettuce. The event is a collab with Starward, so all the snacks are perfectly whisky-friendly.

Rising Stars is on Saturday March 26, Sunday March 27, Saturday April 2 and Sunday April 3 from 11am to 5pm at Queen Victoria Market. Entry is free, with food and drink available to buy.

Snacktown
Supreme snacking is what this pop-up is all about. For two days only, a dozen of the city’s absolute best snacks will be available under one roof – also at Queen Victoria Market. Showcasing the best of multicultural Melbourne, expect Shandong Mama’s outstanding mackerel dumplings, A1 Bakery’s haloumi-cheese pie, Mabu Mabu’s homemade damper with chef-owner Nornie Bero’s “numero uno” whipped golden-syrup butter. Plus, cult mapo-tofu jaffles from the now-closed Super Ling. There’ll also be live demos throughout the day to accompany your progressive snacking.

Snacktown is on Saturday March 26 from 11am to 8pm, and Sunday March 27 from 11am to 5pm at Queen Victoria Market. Entry is free, with food and drink available to buy.

Melbourne Food & Wine Festival runs from March 25 to April 9.

melbournefoodandwine.com.au