Returning for another year, Melbourne’s Tomato Festival is ripe with cooking demonstrations, talks, and produce stalls dedicated to plump produce.
Learn how to make perfectly fluffy gnocchi, expertly seasoned passata and much more when the Melbourne Tomato Festival returns on Sunday 19 March. Now in its third year, the festival – created by Melbourne’s Grossi family, the restaurateurs behind Grossi Florentino, Ombra and more – is a taste of what it’s like to grow, cook and preserve tomatoes the Italian way.
Cooking demonstrations from Guy Grossi, MoVida chef Frank Camorra, Matt Wilkinson and more are staggered throughout the day, as are talks on do-it-yourself mozzarella, rooftop bee-keeping, and how to keep your veggie patch vibrant. As for festival eats, Pickett’s Deli & Rotisserie, Elyros, Enoteca Sileno and more will cook up tomato-based dishes throughout the day.
Try your own hand at making passata, then bottle your own sauce for your now masterful gnocchi, or for a pizza base – after attending a class on making the most of a wood-fired oven. Or, leave it to the professionals and pick up ready-made passata, relishes and more from local producers.
If you really can’t get enough of the ruby-red summer bounty, double the intake with Sydney’s own Tomato Festival, where this year’s focus is on cooking with herbs.
Melbourne Tomato Festival , All Nations Park, Northcote, Sunday 19 March, 10.00am – 6.00pm. $25 for adults, $10 for children. Children under 5 attend free. melbournetomatofestival.com