Picture this – you're sitting at a table in the stunning Treasury Gardens on a late Saturday morning. It's technically autumn but summer is still in the air and your vision is filled with lush greenery and radiant blooms that mirror the elegant flower display in front of you. To either side of you, tables and umbrellas stretch as far as the eye can see. Everyone is dressed in their best brunch outfits as they bask in the vibrant buzz of chatter and laughter. Sipping on your glass of sparkling and snacking on baklava, you're mentally pinching yourself to make sure this isn't a dream…Indeed, I found myself seated at a table with my hosts from Visit Victoria at the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival's World's Longest Brunch that one perfect Saturday morning. The Treasury Gardens provided the perfect backdrop for languishing in the sun sampling food and drink provided by select purveyors of fresh produce and beverages, while indulging in riveting conversation with the experts from Visit Victoria about all that Melbourne has to offer in food and travel. While we waited in anticipation of the event highlight and namesake – Middle-Eastern-themed three-course brunch, we roamed around exploring the numerous display stands. First we enjoyed barista coffee made to order by Coffex coffee roasters, then we tasted apples grown in Montague's own orchards. Apart from Jazz apples which were in season, there were amazingly sweet Ambrosia apples and most surprisingly of all, succulent pink-fleshed Kissabel apples that I initially mistook for guava. Next, the lovely people from Honest Eggs Co gave us an eye-opening spiel on their regenerative farming methods that set their eggs apart from others. I was excited to take home their eggs to try at home given their ethos that better ethics gives rise to quality eggs. Loaded up with apples and eggs, we returned to our tables just in time for the first course to arrive. Having enjoyed a fabulous dinner at Maha previously, I was certainly not disappointed by the sumac pickled tomatoes, green olives, almond hummus and autumn leaves that packed a refreshing punch by Maha's owner-chef, Shane Delia. Not only did the dish highlight seasonal ingredients, the flavours and textures were delicately balanced with the sour tanginess of pickled tomatoes and freshness of greens cutting through the light creaminess of almond hummus. All in all, a brilliant first course to prepare the palate for the next two courses yet satisfying enough for me to wander off again to browse the other stands.I sampled olives by Mount Zero that were featured in the first course, and even got to take home some in my goodie bag. A live band began playing some chill jazz tunes, turning up the festivities a notch.Then I joined the queue for a game of spin-the-wheel by Brick Lane Brewery that earned me a gratifying can of pale ale, while others were rewarded with a nice sun hat and even $30 to spend on their beverages.Back to the table, the second course was an indulgent concoction of poached eggs (supplied by none other than Honest Eggs Co of course) on creamy chickpeas and tahini with paprika butter. Designed by owner-chef of Rumi, Joseph Abboud, this dish felt like a warm embrace featuring some of my favourite Middle Eastern flavours with its simplicity really allowing the natural freshness of the eggs to shine. My last stop before the third course had to be the instant photo stand by Dan Murphy's. Posing atop wooden crates in front of a splendid flower display, a professional photographer snapped photos of us that were instantly printed out for us to take home. The photos turned out terrific and I couldn't have asked for a more perfect memento to remember the day by.Finally, the last course arrived – yoghurt and olive oil cake with Jazz apple and fig compote, cashew cream and sesame brittle by Kirsty Chiaplias, owner-chef of Babajan. If I was impressed by the first two courses, this one absolutely blew me away. The cake was moist and served as a beautiful base for the fruity flavours of apple and fig to harmonise with the delightful nuttiness of cashew and sesame. There was never a dull moment on my palate with this dish and I polished it off with relish. The World's Longest Brunch was long in more ways than one – not only did the tables span quite a length of the Treasury Gardens, we brunched from 10am to 2pm! I thank Visit Victoria for inviting me to this grand event – this day felt like it was plucked straight from a dream and really allowed me to indulge my inner foodie. How could I not love an event that literally celebrates food?In moments like these, I'm really glad I live in Melbourne, and I absolutely can't wait to see what next year's Melbourne Food & Wine Festival will bring to the table (pun intended).
