Want a great example of successful pivoting during lockdown? Look no further than the successful collaboration between Melbourne bayside restaurant icon Stokehouse and legendary seafood wholesaler Clamms. Stokehouse chef Jason Staudt joined up with the Clamms folk to put together three boxes of premium seafood and BBQ goodies that could be enjoyed at home, on…
Read MoreTasty collaborations
The beginning of 2021 has already seen some of our favourite clients presenting exciting new initiatives. Prahran Market cheese gurus Maker & Monger have collaborated with former MasterChef winner Diana Chan on a deliciously fiery toastie called the Sambal Hae Bee. Inspired by Malaysian dried shrimp sambal, the toastie has shrimp, shallots, lemongrass, galangal, chillies…
Read MoreBird in Hand pops a cork
We were beside ourselves with post-COVID excitement when we finally got to host our first in real life event for South Australian winery Bird in Hand. Birds of a feather flocked together at our equally lovely client Stokehouse’s elegant private events space, the Palm Room. Enjoying stunning St Kilda beach views, fabulous food from executive…
Read MoreJohnny’s Green Room salutes the sun
The festive season was a little bit different last year, for obvious reasons, but we have become expert practitioners in the art of the pivot. Case in point: our annual Start of Summer lunch, which is held every year on the first Friday of December at Johnny’s Green Room. In pre-pandemic times, Johnny’s rooftop with…
Read MoreAussie beach house on the Yarra
It’s not really summer until Arbory Afloat, the much-loved floating bar and restaurant anchored next to Flinders Street Station each year, announces its décor and flavour theme for the coming season. In previous years there’s been a Euro beach club vibe but this year, like the rest of us, they’re sticking a little closer to…
Read MoreLakeside lovelies
The place to be this summer has been lakeside in Albert Park. KDPO helped the teams behind South Melbourne diner Half Acre and catering creatives food&desire establish a pop-up urban retreat that makes the picnic rug a chic accoutrement indeed. Lakeside at Carousel was all about giving event-starved Melburnians the chance to grab a COVID-19…
Read MoreA cookbook for good: Brunch in Melbourne
While everyone in Melbourne was bummed about not being able to frequent their fave brunch spots on the weekend when we went into our first lockdown in March, little did we know that Australian charity OnePlate would come to our rescue. In May this year, Australian charity OnePlate launched its first-ever cookbook “Brunch in Melbourne”…
Read MorePivot is Cookes Food’s middle name
Cookes Food is a premium and multifaceted events and catering company that has been no stranger to a pivot in 2020. After a calendar full of events and functions were cleared overnight for Cookes founder Sophie Storen in late March when COVID-19 hit our shores, Sophie and her team put their thinking caps on and started…
Read MoreLet them eat gelato cake: Pidapipo enlists artist Beci Orpin to lift the mood
Everyone’s favourite gelateria Pidapipo decided to combine forces with much loved Melbourne artist Beci Orpin to lift the spirits the only way they knew how; with art and gelato cakes. In late July, Pidapipo owner Lisa Valmorbida worked her magic and came up with three different mini gelato cakes all with puff pastry bases and…
Read MoreBabajan transforms into a Turkish takeaway delight
Carlton North café Babajan has been winning over locals, tourists and foodies alike with their delicious Turkish and Middle Eastern creations for years. Due to its cosy nature, it wasn’t too COVID-19 friendly, so owner Kirsty Chiaplias decided to make the leap into transforming Babajan into a takeaway and provedore heaven in August 2020. The…
Read MoreThe future of wine
Now in its 14th year, Young Gun of Wine had to mix it up a little in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Read MoreCheers to free beers
It would take a stronger person than us to get through this whole pandemic thing without a few beers. Collingwood brewery Stomping Ground was happy to keep brewing beer during the shutdown but was also sad about all those COVID-shuttered pubs across the city so they decided to do something.
Read MoreOrange is the new black
One of the few upsides of COVID-19 is observing the creativity and compassion it has brought out in so many in our communities. One initiative that KDPO loved so much we donated our time to help get the word out was from our clever friends at event and design consultancy, Moth Design.
Read MoreK&G goes back to the future
Past and present came together in an unexpected but ultimately comforting way at King & Godfree recently. K&G, a licensed grocery store operating since 1884, has been owned and operated by the Valmorbida family since 1955 and was recently renovated. And then COVID-19 arrived to spoil the party.
Read MoreLive, Loud and in your Lounge Room
Live music is one of the things we’ve missed the most in lockdown, so KDPO was completely on board when Coopers Brewery engaged us to promote their virtual entertainment series, Live, Loud & Local, nationally.
Read MoreJohnny turned one and boy did we celebrate
To celebrate one year of good times at Johnny’s Green Room, we threw an exuberant birthday party on Thursday 5 December with 200 of our closest friends, family, media and industry faces.
Read MoreWe fell hook line and sinker for Fishbowl
When we saw three young Bondi guys making waves and changing the fast-food scene in Sydney with Fishbowl we were excited to find out that they were making their way down to our beloved Melbourne.
Read MoreArbory Afloat re-berths for the longest summer
For the third year in a row, Arbory Afloat sailed up the Yarra and moored itself beside Flinders St Station for another epic Melbourne summer. Following on from a recent overseas work research trip, the team at Arbory decided to focus on a Miami theme this year to encapsulate the cultural diversity of the vibrant American city.
Read MoreMaker & Monger gets permanent
Our fave cheese guy, Anthony Femia, has had a serious upgrade in his lodgings, swapping his cute but humble antique cheese cart for a bells-and-whistles permanent stall at the Prahran Market.
Read MoreCharity burgers
Melbourne food truck king and owner of Brunswick’s Beatbox Kitchen, Raph Rashid staged a 24-hour burger flipping marathon for charity in August to raise money for the Youth Support + Advocacy Service (YSAS).
Read MoreRaes & Perrier-Jouët get arty
Byron Bay’s iconic luxury boutique, spa and restaurant Raes added another string to its bow this year when it kicked off its inaugural Artist in Residence program with artist Stanislas Piechaczek.
Read MoreThe Westin (feat. Willy Wonka)
The Westin Melbourne loves a collaboration. Last time around it was all about the cheese when the hotel joined forces with our favourite cheese shop and toastie technicians Maker & Monger. Now they’ve joined forces with crazy dessert alchemists Burch & Purchese.
Read MoreChin Chin celebrates dads (and their sneakers)
Modern Thai juggernaut Chin Chin celebrated Melbourne dads on Fathers’ Day this year with a special ‘Feed Me’ menu, featuring a roll call of Chin Chin classics for just $69.50 per head. But this is Chin Chin so the fun didn’t stop there.
Read MoreTrunk transforms into the Italo-American place of your dreams
Pepe’s Italian & Liquor opened its doors revealing the epic transformation from the original Trunk Restaurant & Bar on Exhibition Street. Owner Nick Kutcher drew inspiration for the Italian-American style menu from his time living in New York, which celebrates Italian immigrant cuisine, starring classic pizza and pasta dishes, as well as family-style shared mains.
Read MoreYoga afloat
Arbory Afloat, Melbourne’s hottest (and longest) floating restaurant and bar swapped spritz and pizza for Namaste and downward dog when it hosted Yoga On The Yarra for International Women’s Day.
Read MoreParty like Peroni
Peroni has climbed aboard the party train to celebrate its first significant global brand overhaul in more than a decade.
Read MoreBoozy buffet brunch
Boozy, buffet and brunch are three words we can all get behind. Put them all together and they’re even better as Adam Wright-Smith is currently proving at Half Acre, his bar, eatery and events space in South Melbourne.
Read MoreSparkling MIFF lunch
Yarra Valley-based winery Chandon celebrated their sponsorship at this year’s Melbourne International Film Festival with a lunch in August at one of KDPO’s second homes, Agostino Wine Bar in Carlton.
Read MoreTime to live large on the big barge
We helped spread the word about the latest Arbory Live sessions – a 10-week long music and experiential art program that ran from early November into the New Year.
Read MoreIntroducing Light Years Burleigh Heads
Off the back of the success of its Byron Bay and Noosa restaurants, Light Years opened a third outpost in the always sunny Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast.
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