Ten events under $50: How to do Melbourne Food & Wine Festival on a budget

You don’t need to make bank to make the most of the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival, which runs from March 15 to 24.

If you want maximum deliciousness for minimum dollars, get around the festival hub in Fed Square, where most events and pop-ups have free entry, so you can just rock up.

Sate any lunch, dinner or drink desire during the festival at Dan’s Diner, a retro pop-up by four of hospitality’s most daring Dans: Dan Hunter (Brae), Daniel Puskas (Sixpenny), Daniel Wilson (Yakimono) and Dan Docherty (Commis). How could you turn down fried chicken and buttermilk waffles doused in togarashi maple syrup?

For Baker’s Dozen (March 23-24, free entry), 13 of the city’s biggest names in baking – Falco, Baker Bleu, Monforte Viennoiserie and more – are converging on the Fed Square hub for a pastry-powered market (chilli honey, fennel pollen and sea salt croissant, anyone?).

Simultaneously, Celebrity Sausage (March 23-24, free entry) will see big Melbourne names such as musician Clare Bowditch, and footballers Charlie and Ed Curnow, sizzling their dream snags for you. And for The Pizza Sessions (March 23-24, free entry), Casey Wall of Carlton’s Capitano, Lucy Whitlow (Figlia, Brunswick East) and more top chefs will be throwing dough for pies with creative toppings.

Elsewhere, some Sydney star power will be on show. There’ll be Middle Eastern magic as Paul Farag, from Sydney fine-diner Aalia, throws a Sunday Shawarma Party (March 17, $34) at Windsor charcoal chicken specialist Henrietta; while Merivale powerhouse Dan Hong (Mr Wong, Ms G’s and The Establishment) is bringing Salty Sweet (March 16, free entry) to Fitzroy dessert playhouse Pidapipo Laboratorio, serving cheeseburger spring rolls and next-level banana fritters.

Want to snack your way through Bali, Jakarta and beyond? Indonesian Street Food (March 16-17, $0-$48) is a festival-within-a-festival at Queen Vic Market.