Nigella to spice up Melbourne food fest

The British TV cook and writer has been announced as the headline act for the 2022 Food and Wine Festival from March 25 to April 9

The 62-year-old "Domestic Goddess" will be part of opening night and the star attraction for a $285 three-course lunch and conversation between her and former Masterchef judge Matt Preston two days later.

Other well-known names to lend their culinary talents to the three-week foodie festival include Attica owner Ben Shewry and fellow restaurateur Matt Moran.

For non-food snobs, there will also be a family-friendly pasta fair, celebration of plant-based eating and drinking and tribute to chips in all their forms.

This year marks the festival's 30th following COVID-19 disruptions in 2020 and 2021.

The long-running festival was cancelled in 2020 as coronavirus arrived on Australian shores.

It returned last year but was forced to scrap its winter edition in August as the city bunkered down amid its Delta outbreak.

Victorian Major Events Minister Martin Pakula launched the 2022 festival on Monday and said it was more important than ever in light of the pain the Melbourne culinary scene has experienced across six lockdowns.

"It's not just about the domestic elements of it," he told reporters.

"We see food and wine as a way of selling Melbourne as a culinary destination to the world."

Tickets go on sale on Thursday.

Australian Associated Press