This Week in Food: Super snags, seafood and singles on Valentine’s Day

THIS WEEK IN FOOD

SUPER SAUSAGES: Fan of the sausage? Well, Innocent Bystander in Healesville is hosting a real Sausage Fest on 9th and 10th February. There’s be snag-inspired pizzas to buy (with faves like chorizo, calabrese and morcilla), plenty of wine on hand (of course), and for the real aficionados, local star butcher Ben Duff from The Beef Joint is hosting a sausage masterclass – from which you’ll get to take home your own bangers. To reserve your place at the Sausage Fest, visit innocentbystander.com.au. To book your ticket to the Sausage Making Masterclass, visit https://sausagemasterclass.eventbrite.com.au

YOU BE THE JUDGE: Here’s your chance to shape the menu at a Melbourne favourite. Starting next month, Donovan Cooke will be offering a “10 Tastes a Month” dinner at Ryne, which will see diners ‘taste test’ dishes that may make the menu – depending on their feedback! The first sitting on February 28th sold out in record time. Those diners will enjoy dishes like Crab Karamushi with shiitake mushrooms; and Veal Sweetbreads with honey, green pepper corn, for a cool $110 per person for the ten tastes. Your next chance to indulge will be Thursday 14th March. More info – www.ryne.com.au

EX-EMPLARY COMPANY: Just for something different, the Valentines Day cynics among you might appreciate QT Hotel’s novel approach to the day of love. They’re running a ‘singles mixer’ on their rooftop, with a difference – they want people to bring along an ex! It could be that you’re now good mates, might be that you think there’s still a bit of a spark. And yes, you’ll still get in if you just bring along a trusty wingman. Or if you do actually want to get romantic with a loved one, book in at Pascale Bar & Grill downstair, order one of their bottles of premium champagne and receive half a dozen Sydney Rock and Pacific Oysters complimentary. www.qthotelsandresorts.com/melbourne

A PINCH OF SEAFOOD: Elwood’s Dandelion has become a real stayer, and chef Geoff Lindsay’s first Tuesday Chilli Crab Nights an insitution. Basically, on the first Tuesday of each month, he serves up a special set menu of crab entrees, crab main course and dessert with wine flight matching wine flight, for $120pp. The next one’s up on Feb 5, and you’ll enjoy dishes like drab dressed with coconut, lime, chilli, crispy black sesame rice papers; crab spring rolls wrapped in crunchy lattice rice paper; and of course, Singapore Chilli Mud Crab. More info and bookings – https://dandelion.ws/chillicrab/