Calendar of once-off events

You will learn the basics of making your own sauerkraut, fermented seasonal vegetables and kombucha plus how to use fermented products in day-to-day life. You will take home your own jars of vegetables to ferment at home plus a kombucha SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast).

Presenter: Lauren Mueller.

Italian food. See Rosa’s website for the menus.

Be guided through various recipes that showcase the different ways that you can cook with bean curd at home. Then take home the dishes that you created (take your own container).

Organised by Strathdon House.

Learn all about hot composts – what they are, how they work, what goes in them and how to look after them – all while you make a hot compost!

Organised by Friends of Regent Community Garden. Click here to read about the garden.

This is a hands-on cooking experience with an expert cooking instructor. Learn about Korean cuisine, watch some cooking demonstrations, then enjoy eating the food with a complementary drink.

The menu: kimchi, Korean style spicy chicken; haejanggguk (beef, cabbage and spice paste stew); and spicy dipping sauce.

The team from the Basin Backyard will discuss beekeeping, the health benefits of honey and all other bee-related information.

Kat, from the Central Ringwood Community Centre, will talks about the benefits of a community garden and how the different activities that take place there can engage and inspire you.

On 8 consecutive Wednesdays from 1st May, 11.15am-12.45pm.

This course is for teenagers. Each week you will learn to make a main course. Take an apron and tea towel.

Organised by Living And Learning @ Ajani. Run in partnership with Bulleen Heights School.

On Wednesdays, starting 1st May, 4-5.30pm. For children aged 8-13.

Each week will focus on different aspects of running a kitchen, like mise en place (French for “put in place”), safety and food hygiene, playing to our strengths (and the strengths of our team), how to work in a brigade, food storage, flavour profiles & ingredients and cleaning up. You will prep and cook a different meal each week, including lasagna, pie, cake and a roast dinner.

Presenter: Cook Murph from Suntop Plaza. Organised by NECCHi.

Duncan Cocking, from Leaf, Root and Fruit, will discuss: the patterns that he sees in nature and how you can begin observing them too; the seasons of Melbourne; phenology; timing of planting and succession planting; and growing Christmas tomatoes.

The presentation will start at 7pm but there will be sandwiches and a food swap at 6.45pm.

On Thursdays, starting 2nd May, 9.30am-1.30pm.

The objective is for you to develop skills, social connection, and self-confidence to seek further study or work in hospitality. You will prepare, eat and gain an overview of different styles and types of cooking. You will also learn how to cook for a large group.

Organised by Brunswick Neighbourhood House.

15 sessions over a period of 17 weeks.

This course is designed as a taster for those who are unsure as to whether accredited training is for them, or whether horticulture and/or permaculture is the right pathway, or who are simply not able to commit to a full course at this stage. The three units offered (recognise plants; assist with soil or growing media sampling and testing; and plant and maintain permaculture crops) have been selected from the Certificate II in Horticulture and Certificate II in Permaculture.

Presenter: Abigail Jabines.

On 5 consecutive Thursdays, starting 2nd May, 11am-1pm.

Learn how to cook easily just for one person. Make the meals each week and eat together what you have made.

Organised by Lilydale Community House.

Tully Gibbons, an Aboriginal Educator at the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Heritage Aboriginal Corporation, will discuss Wurundjeri bushfoods and the ecology of indigenous plant life.

They will show you how to easily incorporate this little SCOBY into your daily routine. You will make some milk kefir and then move onto flavouring, making butter, labneh, catching the whey and then making a naturally fizzy and gut-loving soda. You’ll go home with: a milk kefir SCOBY in a jar and ready to feed when you get home; a whey soda flavoured with fresh fruit of your choice to finish fermenting at home; milk kefir cultured butter; and an illustrated recipe card.

Join them to pickle excess rescued food over a cuppa.

Organised by Greenhills Neighbourhood House.

Just turn up.

Italian food. See Rosa’s website for the menus.

On Fridays, midday-2pm. For those aged 18-25.

Each week, you will cook and share a vegetarian meal with others using donated surplus food. In so doing, you will learn different recipes and cooking skills, including: cook healthy plant-based meals on a budget; grocery shop; plan meals; and gain knowledge on general nutrition, food safety, and storage. You will also get a bag of free, fresh groceries each week.

Organised by Open Table.

This is a hands-on cooking experience with an expert cooking instructor. Learn about some bush foods, watch some cooking demonstrations, then enjoy eating the food with a complementary drink.

The menu: smoked kangaroo tenderloin or lamb racks; murray cod or barramundi steamed in banana leaf; damper ‘flatbread’ with mountain pepper; and bush pesto and goat’s cheese dip.

This is a hands-on cooking experience with an expert cooking instructor. Learn about Japanese cuisine, watch some cooking demonstrations, then enjoy eating the food with a complementary drink.

The menu in odd numbered months: sushi rolls; miso soup; tempura (mixed fried vegetables, prawn and soba noodles); and seaweed salad).

The menu in even numbered months: fish with citrus soy sauce; ramen (noodles); seafood stock; fried chicken; and fried and marinated eggplant.

Celebrate the start of International Compost Awareness Week. Take part in interactive activities and games as a family and learn what makes the perfect compost recipe as well as why compost critters are so important.

Many immigrants to Australia find it challenging to cook their recipes because the crops they treasure at home aren’t easily available here. Farm Raiser would like to help and try to grow some of these crops.

They are therefore launching a new project to diversify the crops that they are growing. They have already introduced taro, cassava, 5 types of sweet potato, oca/NZ yam, yam beans and chinese yam to their fields, but they want even more variety.

You are invited to the farm for a tour and morning tea where you can discuss what crops you miss from your home country. The Farm Raiser team encourages you to bring seeds, seedlings and cuttings of plants, as well as growing instructions, recipes and stories from home. They will then propagate the plants in their nursery and plant them out in a dedicated space which you will be able to visit.

You will finish the day with a short working bee to prepare the space for the new crops.

Feel free to take a plate to share for morning tea.

Learn how to make the dough from scratch and how to shape the pasta. You will learn how to make balanzoni and ravioli di pesce. You will also learn how to make two sauces (alla norma and quattro formaggi).

Presenter: Piera Pagnoni. Organised by That’s Amore Cheese.

Take a tour of the grounds of CERES where you will learn how to identify bush foods. Then participate in hands on demonstration of how to incorporate bush foods into simple, tasty and nutritious meals, desserts and snacks.

Presenter: Belinda Kennedy.

Learn about many different types of pickling techniques, how to get the most out of your veggies and all the essential food safety information.

Take along a clean jar with your choice of cut up veggies so that you can pour your newly learned pickling liquid recipe into.

Presenter: Kaye Cramond, from Grow Cook Store. Organised by My Smart Garden.

These monthly sessions will cover planting, harvesting and all the jobs required in the garden each month.

Organised by Sustainable Macleod in conjunction with Watsonia Neighbourhood House.

This is a self-guided wine tasting experience, where you choose the order in which you visit the various venues. The ticket includes complementary tastings, a $10 food voucher, a $25 voucher for wine orders and a tasting glass.

The participating venues and winemakers:

• Bar Spontana with Fin Wines.
• Amelia Shaw with Musical Folk Wines.
• Co-Conspirator’s Brewing Co with Unico Zelo.
• Hotel Railway with Bobar Wines.
• Inner North Brewing Co with Wilkie Wines.
• Joey Smalls with Yugen Wines.
• The Penny Black with La Kooki Wines.
• Tino with Russel & Suitor Wines.
• Welcome to Brunswick with Glenhope Vineyard.

Jo-Anne Grist will demonstrate how to make: raw pistachio slice; raw chocolate brownie with pistachios; raw mini mango cheesecakes; lemon and coconut bliss balls; and fresh summer berry rocky road, You will take home a box of raw treats.

Tish will pass on her techniques for making macarons. Take an apron.

A limit of 4 participants in total.

Organised by Living And Learning @ Ajani.

This is a hands-on cooking experience with an expert cooking instructor. Learn about Thai cuisine, watch some cooking demonstrations, then enjoy eating the food with a complementary drink.

The menu: fish sauce dressing; green or red curry paste; fried corn fritters; green papaya salad; and green curry chicken or red curry duck.

Learn the basic techniques for bottling olives, drying herbs/fruits, jams and pickles, as well as ways to store food and use leftovers to minimise food waste.

Presenter: Maria Ciavarella. Organised by My Smart Garden.

This is a hands-on cooking experience with an expert cooking instructor. Learn about Vietnamese cuisine, watch some cooking demonstrations, then enjoy eating the food with a complementary drink.

The menu: fish sauce; mango/papaya salad; rice noodles with aromatic chicken broth; fried fish with dill and turmeric; and Vietnamese spring rolls.

Kat Lavers will discuss: basic plant biology and what makes grafting work; how to graft safely and successfully; and simple grafting tools for home gardeners.

You will learn about foods that can help you to build and protect your gut microbiome and clear brain fog. You will also learn how to incorporate brain powering foods easily into your daily diet.

All the recipes centre on nutritionally dense vegetables and are both gluten- and dairy-free. The sample menu includes: vegan cream cheese; oat + mesquite crackers; beet sauerkraut; chickpea salad with orange tahini; coconut + turmeric pie; and miso puffed balls.

Presenter: Melanie Leeson, from Mettle + Grace.

Savour the abundant chestnuts, gourmet food, Devonshire tea, coffee, artisan beer and mulled wine. Explore the diverse range of stalls, including: roasted chestnuts; poffertjes; homemade cakes; sausage sizzle; local restaurants; mulled wine; coffee, tea and chai; local handmade crafts; and local produce.

In this hands-on introductory workshop, you will learn: the secrets to successfully growing oyster mushrooms at home; inoculation, sterilisation and basic mycology; and how to start master cultures.

Presenter: Buttons Mira from The Mushroomery.

This workshop is for those interested in living a permaculture lifestyle in relation to plants and how to use them in the kitchen and garden. You will learn how to utilise plants for food, medicine, fodder and fibre, whilst also providing habitat and systemic stability.

Presenter: Taj Scicluna.

Italian food. See Rosa’s website for the menus.

Cristina Chang will show you how to make the classic Taiwanese dish, soy braised pork belly bass (aka gua bao). Learn the basics of fermentation and preserve your own mustard greens to take home, how to make and steam buns from scratch and how to make gua bao and spring onion knots. At the end, enjoy the dishes made in class at a communal dining table and take the rest of your hard work home.

This is a hands-on cooking experience with an expert cooking instructor. Learn about Mexican cuisine, watch some cooking demonstrations, then enjoy eating the food with a complementary drink.

The menu: tacos de guisado (stewed beef); tortillas; salsa rojo + salsa verde (roasted tomato and tomatillo sauces); ceviche con tostadas (lightly cured seasonal fish); and sopa de tortilla (tortilla soup).

Experience the tastes, smells and sounds of Sri Lankan cooking. You will learn how to make a chicken curry dish, dhal with spinach and brinjal moju (eggplant) alongside Sri Lankan special yellow rice. Afterwards, you will sit down and enjoy a Sri Lankan feast.

Organised by Balwyn Community Centre.