Cooking Shows

Prepare to be left a bocca aperta.

Join Guy Grossi and outstanding Italian chefs from across Australia for live cooking demonstrations that celebrate the artistry, flavours and passion of Italian cuisine.

17–18 October 2026

Italian Festa & Expo · Upstairs Stage, Gallery

See the program

Chef with tattooed arms slicing cured meat at cooking demonstration, wearing white chef's coat and tan apron

/ The cooking shows

The art of the Italian table

Explore the traditional Italian meal from antipasto and primo to secondo and dolce.

Chef laughing during a cooking demonstration at the Italian Festa

Upstairs Stage · Gallery

Four courses. Eight chefs. Two days.

Experience the art of the Italian table with special guest Guy Grossi. Across two days, eight chefs take the stage to prepare the four courses of a classic Italian meal, sharing authentic recipes, regional traditions and the stories behind every dish.

/ The menu

From antipasto to dolce

Each day, four live cooking demonstrations prepare the four courses of a classic Italian meal.

Antipasto

Saturday · Guy Grossi: the flavours, techniques and generosity of Italian antipasto.

Sunday · Akela Nevelli: Pomodoro marinato in carpione e barbabietola in diverse consistenze.

Primo

Saturday · Andrea Vignali: Risotto alla milanese con ossobuco.

Sunday · Luca Ciano: Black truffle fettuccine with Parmigiano Reggiano fonduta with porcini & truffle dust.

Secondo

Saturday · Flavio Gallotta.

Sunday · Giacomo Guerrieri: Lemon & basil sorbet, a versatile gourmet sorbet, perfect alongside raw fish, oysters and shellfish as a refined intermezzo.

Dolce

Saturday · Robert Tricklebank: the art of Italian dolci, with professional techniques and practical tips.

Sunday · Alessandro Luppolo: Rochet al cioccolato, almond vanilla praline made from scratch.

/ The chefs

Meet the chefs

Special guest Guy Grossi and outstanding Italian chefs from across Australia.

Saturday · Antipasto

Guy Grossi

Guy Grossi is a Melbourne-born chef and restaurateur and one of the best-known names in Italian cooking in Australia. A familiar face on Australian television, he has appeared on Food Safari, Iron Chef Australia and My Kitchen Rules.

Saturday · Primo

Andrea Vignali

Andrea Vignali is a Milan-born chef and co-founder of Al Dente Enoteca in Carlton. His work has earned recognition from Gambero Rosso and Time Out, establishing Al Dente among Melbourne's leading Italian restaurants.

Saturday · Secondo

Flavio Gallotta

Chef Flavio Gallotta brings over 40 years of culinary experience and a passion for sharing Italian cuisine with the world. He has spent 17 years with the Rana Group’s restaurant and events division, serving as a Rana Chef Ambassador for the past seven years.

Inside Brunetti Classico on Lygon Street, with its long pastry counter

Saturday · Dolce

Robert Tricklebank

Robert Tricklebank has spent a number of years in the cake decorating team at Brunetti Classico, the pasticceria on Lygon Street, Carlton.

Sunday · Antipasto

Akela Nevelli

Chef Akela Nevelli is a Melbourne-based chef and director with more than ten years in high-end hospitality across Italy, the United Kingdom and Australia. His style is rooted in modern Italian cuisine, combining traditional techniques and flavours with contemporary presentation and locally sourced ingredients.

Sunday · Primo

Luca Ciano

Milan-born, Sydney-based chef Luca Ciano's life and career are rooted in family, tradition and fresh ingredients. He is known for his TV show Luca's Key Ingredient, streaming on SBS On Demand, his bestselling cookbooks and his own range of artisanal products.

Sunday · Secondo

Giacomo Guerrieri

Giacomo Guerrieri is chef and co-owner of Casa Mariotti in Richmond, where they invite you to come and share in the flavours of honest Italian wine and home-cooked Roman cuisine, with recipes straight from Mamma Mariotti's kitchen.

Sunday · Dolce

Alessandro Luppolo

Alessandro Luppolo is an Italian pastry chef and chocolate maker based in Melbourne. He is the only Italian in Australia making chocolate from scratch, and he shows that process on stage.

An international endorsement

An initiative part of a worldwide celebration

The Cooking Shows have attracted the attention of Italian institutions, becoming part of something bigger and international.

CONSULATE GENERAL OF ITALY

Endorsed in Melbourne

The whole series of Cooking Shows featuring eight Italian chefs, together with La Gara del Biscotto, is promoted by the Consulate General of Italy in Melbourne and the Italian Cultural Institute of Melbourne.

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Recognised by Rome

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy has included the projects in the global celebration of the Settimana della Cucina Italiana nel Mondo.

BEYOND THE FESTA

Part of a worldwide celebration

Through the Cooking Shows, eight chefs share their dishes and techniques, connecting CO.AS.IT. Melbourne and the Italian Festa & Expo with the worldwide celebration of Italian cuisine during the Settimana della Cucina Italiana nel Mondo.

Celebrating Italian food culture around the world

Part of the Settimana della Cucina Italiana nel Mondo

The Cooking Shows form part of the Settimana della Cucina Italiana nel Mondo, one of the longest-running international initiatives promoted by Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

The official 2026 theme is: “Cucina italiana patrimonio UNESCO: territori e filiere d’eccellenza.”

Established following Expo Milano 2015, the initiative celebrates Italian culinary culture, regional traditions, quality ingredients and the people and communities who preserve them.

Three chefs compete in Italian Festa Dish Italy Up Challenge cooking competition on stage

/ 01 — Sponsors & Partners

Thank you to our sponsors

Cooking Demo Sponsor