Rachel Khoo's Kitchen Notebook: Melbourne

Rachel’s Australian food odyssey begins! Kicking off her eight week journey in one of the world’s most liveable cities, Rachel wanders around Melbournes European-designed streets and samples coffee at the city’s oldest establishment. Rachel explores the oldest Chinatown in the Southern Hemisphere and discovers the importance early settlers had on Melbourne’s food scene. On her travels, Rachel also visits a new breed of restaurants with a back to basics food philosophy and appreciation of fresh, seasonal ingredients.

Rachel explores some of the city’s suburban pockets and discovers an open-hearted food community. First up she meets a kindred spirit and discovers some of the tastiest croissants outside of Paris. Rachel cooks with expat and seasonal cooking advocate Matt Wilkinson, before discovering a not-for-profit restaurant.

Melbourne prides itself on being the sporting capital of Australia. Rachel discovers what fuels the citys weekend warriors and shines a spotlight on sport fanatics favourite gourmet fast food. She cooks with the city’s original food truck proprietor, samples the best Southern fried chicken Melbourne has to offer, and visits a cutting edge craft beer brewery.

Rachel uncovers one of Melbourne’s lesser-known day trips when she heads for the hills and explores the Dandenongs region. She meets up with passionate Argentinian chef Mauro Callegari from The Independent restaurant and together the pair cook locally caught golden trout. Later, Rachel uncovers the secret behind Melbournes delicious mushrooms and finds an orchard full of seasonal fruits.