Our final function for the 2024 calendar year. Our Christmas celebration is always a mixed function each year is an opportunity for members to come together with their family and friends. Pinotta is 13 years old and owned and operated solely by Heidi Modra, whose previous

career was as an Art Director. 

The Lyceum Club was

founded in 1912 and has provided an opportunity for women across Melbourne to meet and discuss cultural, intellectual and political pursuits. We dined in the private room in the Club’s

architectural winning dining area with views over the inner CBD. The meal has been designed by the club

head chef Daniel Southern from Smith Street Bistro and Attica.

Sixteen enthusiastic ladies attended a Shellfish Masterclass with Walter Trupp at his Chef’s Table Cooking School in South Yarra. With his wealth of experience in Michelin Star restaurants in Europe and his experience as head chef at Langton’s Restaurant, Walter was able to share invaluable advice regarding the selection, preparation and cooking of a wide variety of shellfish.

Our 56th Birthday Dinner was celebrated on Wednesday 20th September, 2023. In aEendance were 33 Members and their partners or guests, plus we had guests from the FederaNon Wine and Food SocieNes of Australia

Every year we include a cooking class and a single bottle function on our calendar. Both are usually small events and for that reason we tend to hold them in the winter months. This year we decided to combine them.

It's Turkish, but not as you know it. Since 2016, chef Coskun Uysal has taken diners to a place not on the map. He's achieved this by acing a particularly difficult culinary manoeuvre: turning old traditional recipes and ideas upside down in modernising and refreshing traditional dishes.

Head chef Rosheen Kaul who started in the Etta Kitchen in 2020 has brought with her, her vast experiences from Lee Ho Fook, Ezard and a small role as chef de partie at Dinner By Heston. Rosheen’s culinary experience brings global influences from Asia and the Middle East, as well as drawing on her own heritage of Chines, Filipino and Kashmiri.

Far from the fish and chip shop, the restaurant is divided into three dining spaces, the front bar, the dining room and the Greenhouse. Would you believe fish is still on the menu!

Michelin-trained, Irish Chef Peter Roddy’s restaurant was awarded the prestigious 1 Chefs Hat in the 2015 Good Food Guide. He is known for his use of outstanding Australian ingredients, sympathetically handled to create visually striking dishes of terrific flair.

Quintessential fine dining 'bayside' style

Our 57th Birthday Dinner was celebrated in style at Ruckers Hill in Northcote. Head chef/owner David Murphy treated us to a delicious 6 course menu which highlighted his experience in cooking classic French dishes with a modern twist.

On a chilly Autumn evening, 17 members and 3 guests were treated to a

contemporary fusion menu at Kekou in Bridge Road Richmond. The food

incorporated several Asian cuisines with head chef Oak Kunnalok gaining

inspiration from his extensive travels and the experience gained at several

notable Melbourne restaurants.

In October we experienced food at Northern Italian Oster in Richmond. A great small local venue hosted by Nick Romano. Nick’s experience both in Melbourne and internationally in Dublin and Dubai was exemplified in the dishes prepared that reminded us of the Italian food that is served in small local regional restaurants across the country, with a modern twist.

We were fortunate to have been invited into the Alexandra Club by one of our members. What a dining experience.  As we sat in a delightful charming dining room drinking out of beautiful delicate pink water glasses it took my breath away. Such grandeur with beautiful antiques, displays of fresh flowers and a painting of Queen Alexandra prominent in the room.

Head chef Samuel Rivas brings an innovative and passionate approach to food, rich with culture from his Peruvian background. His culinary journey began in Venezuela where he was inspired by the Latin cuisine and its diversity of flavours and colours.

It’s named after an old Anglo-Saxon word meaning “a course continuously moving onwards”, a phrase that describes the compact, no share-plate menu where dishes change frequently. Degustations are an option. The constant is classic French ideas and techniques such as confit and sous vide.

Former Grossi Florentino chef Andrea Vignali started cooking from home as he was not able to receive the JobKeeper allowance.  Who would have thought that cooking from home would lead to a commercial kitchen, where his pasta sauces, ravioli and puddings not only saw him survive but he was able to employ other unfortunate people like himself. Him and long with friend and business partner Davide Bonadiman, also a former Grossi Florentino chef, and front-of-house manager Michelle Badek, opened Al Dante Enoteca in Carlton

Emilia brings you food that is rustic yet refined with fantastic ambience, attentive and professional service.

Our Vietnamese Cooking Class

Askal was born from the shared passion of four Filipinos, each deeply connected to their culinary heritage. Though our individual paths spanned across different regions and continents, we found a common language in the flavours of our homeland.

A spot for all occasions, showcasing his signature modern Australian fare across both the bar and dining room. Estelle is a collaborative effort by Pickett and his chefs, the menu running easily from bar snacks through to larger plates primed for lengthy dining room sessions.

Our Christmas celebration dinner was conducted at Matteo’s a long-time favourite of the LWFS. We had 25 Members and Guests who enjoyed a delicious menu which was designed just for us.

For our Winter Dinner I chose David’s in Prahran. Davids, where the food is delicious and authentic, is one of my favourite restaurants and has been for many years.

 Atta’s head chef and co-owner, Harry Dhanjal, is entirely self-taught. He and business partner Brij Patel have a mission which is simple: enhance and excite the palate but also the eyes as they take the modern approach on traditional and endogenous Indian dishes from cooking to presentation.

At Atta, each dish is “indigenous” but elevated with new flavours and ingredients.

Spanish cooking class.

Ocha pioneered modern-Asian fusion in Melbourne so successfully that they are still providing an experience to remember. It is 14 years since we have been to Ocha and chef, co-owner Yasu Yoshida, along with Michelle Rogerson, use traditional Japanese techniques to craft contemporary dishes which encourage shared dining. 

Italian food like no other.