This year the Festival steps up its commitment to living large by completing its signature event, the Bank of Melbourne World’s Longest Lunch with a brand-new feast: the Bank of Melbourne World’s Longest Brunch. And who better to kick off this epic tribute to the city’s favourite meal than café king Nathan Toleman of the Mulberry Group and Lune Croissanterie’s pastry queen Kate Reid?

Make it a very good morning by joining these two remarkable talents for a feast that celebrates our city’s love of café culture. As you join the party in Treasury Gardens you’ll be greeted with your choice of a glass of Victorian sparkling wine or a breakfast beer on arrival and a coffee. The menu that Toleman and Reid have devised, and Peter Rowland’s catering team will produce on the day, runs to three delicious courses:

– Avocado toast with feta, beetroot and radish
– Broccolini and kale salad with almond hummus, soft-boiled egg and bacon
– Bread-and-butter croissant pudding with labne, blackberry compote and granola crumble

In addition to this pair of creative culinary mavericks, Melbourne Food & Wine Festival is thrilled to be working with some other fantastic Victorian businesses to bring the brunch to life. Honest Eggs Co will be with us, doing what they do best, Coffex is taking care of the coffee, Murray River Organics is bringing the muesli for Lune’s granola crumble, Yarra Valley Dairy is bringing their farmhouse feta, Just Water is doing (just) water, and, for a true breakfast of champions, Brick Lane is helping us get on the beers. The bacon is made from Australian pork and anything you want to order throughout the morning is made possible thanks to the seamless, cashless magic that is Mr Yum. And speaking of fantastic Victorians, we owe a debt of gratitude to the City of Melbourne and to the Victorian Government for their support of this event and of the Festival in general.

Dan Murphy’s is on board with a Bubble Bar for Victorian sparkling plus a great edit of the Victorian finalist wines from their Decoded range.

Mecca Cosmetica is coming to the party in a big way, too: every ticket to the brunch comes with a 75g tube of Mecca’s best-selling To Save Face SPF50+ Superscreen Oxybenzone Free facial lotion.

Get together with your friends and family for a glammed-up celebration of our city in one of its most beautiful settings. We’re hoping there’ll be a great many more World’s Longest Brunches in the years to come, but this is your only chance to say you were part of the very first one. We can’t wait to see you there.