Experience everything you love about Melbourne from home
What do you miss the most since you started working or studying from home? Chances are you miss going to restaurants, bars, parks, events (yes, we're looking at you Melbourne Food & Wine Festival), and more.
But as we all patiently wait until all restrictions are lifted, we observe and celebrate the wonderful things our industry has done to make sure the people who've made it possible are all taken care of.
Fine Dining at home and grocery shopping at your local pub
A welcomed change is getting to try some of the best restaurants in Melbourne, places that would typically be very hard to get a table and wouldn't have considered doing a delivery option.
Bellota Wine Bar
Images from Nicky Riemer & Bellota Wine Bar
Nicky Reimer, alumni and Head Chef at Bellota Wine Bar announced a delivery option on March 19th; days before the government ordered restaurants, cafes and bars to halt sit-in trade. Apart from delivering their famous confit duck leg, mushroom & porcini ragu with sauteed spaetzle, you can also order high-quality European ingredients and select wine from the extensive collection.
If that's not enough for you try Bellota, the occasional photos of Beverly, Fletcher, Charlie and Solly should get you on board (yes, that's her four Cavelier pups).
Attica
Images from Attica
Ben Shewry has elevated iso-dinner to a whole other level. For $95 (not including delivery), you can now try Attica classics at home where you get to try their most popular dishes. They've also added the option to matched wines, birthday cakes, desserts and more.
They also launched the Attica Soup Project, a collaboration with Food Writer Dani Valent. It's a way for these two people to help an integral part of the industry, its workers who are under temporary visas, which exempts them from accessing government help. This is how the Soup Project works, on Tuesdays and Saturdays, if you order Attica's in-home menu it will include a Thai inspired chicken broth - something you can enjoy for lunch the next day. The soup is $25 with $5 going straight to the people who need a helping hand. Baker Bleu has also enlisted their delicious bread as the perfect pairing for the soup.
Visit Broadsheet to read more about Melbourne's best takeaway options.
Helpful Resources
Images from Worksmith
Hospitality focused co-working space and Angliss partner, worksmith, released a comprehensive response guide in mid-March. And since then the helpful reading continues as their library under Worksmith Connect becomes a hub of trusted resources for the Australian hospitality industry. So if you're researching for a government form, a template to send to your landlord or general tips on how you can rejig your business plan, head there to start.
Giving back
Images from Neil Perry
Holey Moley & Funlab
Similar to Attica, mini-golf and bar funhouse Holey Moley employs a lot of temporary visa holders. As they can't trade in their usual location, they've come up with a smart solution to bring the fun of Holey Moley into your own home.
Think of A-Party as a combination of your go-to local trivia night mixed with hanging out with your favourite people at home. All you need is Zoom, a group of friends, and your favourite snacks ready to go. Believe us, those games you used to play at home when you were a child - they still hold up.Best of all? They're free! But a welcome donation will go straight to Holey Moley employees who are not eligible for either JobSeeker or JobKeeper.
Rockpool Dining Group
Another friend of Angliss, Neil Perry and the Rockpool Dining Group Foundation has launched Hope Delivery (available in Melbourne and Sydney), a meal program, as a way to support international hospitality workers and the homeless and disadvantaged doing it tough during the pandemic.
Neil's next goal is to extend the meal program to international hospitality students. So if you're a hospitality student at Angliss, Hope Delivery is inviting youto come down to the promenade next to Rockpool Bar & Grill Melbourne in Southgate from 12pm this Thursday to collect a free meal.
It's an inspiration how, in the toughest of times, our industry has shown adaptability and our ever-present sense of community. We can't wait to go back and enjoy Melbourne the way we've always had.
Save us a table when all of this is done.
