Put on your stretchy pants and loosen your belts because Newcastle Food Month is almost here. The Newcastle food scene is not just hot, it’s sizzling, and the festival in April is the biggest yet.
With more than 70 Feature Events, 3 Signature Events, and 70 Plate Dates, Newcastle Food Month is Australia’s largest and longest regional food festival. This year’s event is the sixth to be held and it just keeps on getting bigger, bolder and more delicious than ever.
From deli and bakeries to pop ups and destination dining, the Newcastle food scene is creative, youthful, and flavour-driven. There could be no better example of that than Reece Hignell, a former MasterChef contestant, owner of Cake Boi and Sonny & Betty, and one of the event’s two ambassadors.
He is passionate about the local food scene, loves the city’s creativity and energy, and happily shares his enthusiasm for Newcastle with anyone who’ll listen. Spend some time in his company, as I did recently, and you’ll soon be a convert too.
Here are some of the reasons why you need to put Newcastle Food Month on your agenda. To download the full program or make bookings, visit newcastlefoodmonth.com.au
SoundBites: A Festival Within A Festival
A festival within a festival, SoundBites is a brand new event and one of three Signature Events of Newcastle Food Month. It will be held at Newcastle Racecourse on Saturday, March 28, kicking off the 2026 program.
This is Newcastle on a plate and in a glass. As well as being a showcase of Hunter Valley wineries and food producers, there will be exclusive signature dishes created just for SoundBites, live music and pop-up kitchens. Look out for demonstrations from Newcastle’s leading chefs as they team up with celebrity chef Miguel Maestre.
Hunter Valley Meets The Coast
Award-winning Hunter Valley winery, First Creek, is once again the Presenting Partner for Plate Date but this year it adds another string to its bow by hosting some new events itself.
One of those is Cellar Door in the City where every Thursday to Sunday in April, it will offer tasting flights in the Crystalbrook Kingsley’s stylish lobby bar, Ms Mary. First Creek is one of the Hunter Valley’s most esteemed producers, with its 2023 Single Vineyard Will’s Hill Chardonnay named 2025 NSW Wine of the Year in the NSW Wine Awards.
First Creek will partner with the Hunter Culinary Association to produce a take on the historic Paris Waiters Race, and among other events will host a Got Your Back Sista Beer & Wine Trivia Night fundraiser at Foghorn Brewery.
Great Newcastle Waiters Race
Get set for a load of fun – and an impressive display of skill — when the Great Newcastle Waiters Race takes off on Wednesday, April 1. (The date is no joke, by the way.)
Inspired by the Paris Course des Garçons de Café, this high-energy relay will see waiters, bartenders and front-of-house professionals race a city circuit while balancing a tray featuring First Creek wines, Foghorn beers, Earp cocktails, and Signal Box food.
Jointly presented by First Creek Wines and the Hunter Culinary Association, it will be held in the Station Newcastle and Market Street Lawn precinct. And it costs nothing to watch!
After the race, First Creek will have a pop-up wine bar at the Signal Box where you can buy tickets to rub shoulders with chefs, winemakers and hospitality legends.
Newcastle Food & Street Art Tour
Keira Bourke and her partner Nathan Corrigan have travelled to more than 90 countries, and it was during this time that they discovered tours were a great way of developing a more meaningful connection with places. When they returned to Newcastle in 2023, Keira quit the corporate world and launched the Newy Tour Co.
The company offers a range of city and regional tours, the newest a food and street art tour prompted by the many requests they were getting. “There is a real appetite from travellers, both domestic and international, when they realize how amazing our food scene is, they want to learn more about it,” says Keira.
The three-hour walking tour weaves through key food and street art precincts, stopping for tastes and stories along the way. Food Wine Travel had a preview of the tour last month and it was clear the Newcastle food scene punches well above its weight.
Keira attributes this to the city’s proximity to agriculture, viticulture and seafood all within an hour or so of the city. “It’s very low food miles so we have lovely fresh food to work with,” she says. “We will rotate the restaurants we work with so we can share the love to support as many small businesses as possible.”
I highly recommend this tour. It’s a great way of developing the meaningful connection that Keira talks about, and taste some fabulous food along the way.
Plate Dates: A Month-Long Hot Date
Plate Dates, presented by First Creek Wine, is Newcastle Food Month at its best. Not only does it showcase the city’s culinary landscape, it makes Food Month one of the most accessible festivals in the country.
The deal is available throughout April at more than 70 restaurants, cafés and pubs offering a drink and a signature dish for $30 (in some cases, $25). There’s a full list here of the venues involved.
We road-tested some of the deals. Yes, it’s a hard job. Where to start? Arno Deli has a cult following in Newcastle and it’s easy to see why – it’s Italian-inspired panini are seriously good. We loved the share plates at Signal Box, especially the zucchini flowers and the fried cauliflower blossom. We didn’t get to taste the Kick-Ass Steak Sanga at Foghorn Brewery but it sounds amazing (the sauce is made in-house using the brewer’s malt).
Blanca is a cool restaurant with Mediterranean vibes, the perfect spot to enjoy a refreshing Lavender or Limoncello Spritz with gently spiced Golden Saganaki drizzled with honey and oregano. New kid on the block and also very cool is Cara, where you can have house-made Toulouse sausage with pomme purée and bordelaise sauce, served with your choice of a red or white Hunter Valley wine.
In a nod to Newcastle Airport’s new flights to Singapore, Harrison’s Food & Wine is offering Singapore crab spaghettini with a glass of First Creek Vermentino. Channeling Arno Deli’s legendary #2 panino, The Del is offering a stunning porchetta and smoky grilled eggplant pizza with its signature red sauce and fior di latte, along with a glass of First Creek Rosé or Vermentino.
Finally, you can enjoy two pastries and two coffees from Lambton’s fabulous Crumb bakery, taking your $30 box to the park for the sweetest Plate Date of all.
Newy’s New Foodie Neighbourhoods
Newcastle Food Month is an opportunity to explore some of the city’s dining precincts.
The Midtown precinct (Newcastle West) welcomes Late Night Plate Dates with courtesy bus transfers. Hip bar, Maru Hi-Fi (with a 10,000-strong vinyl collection), is offering creamy spiced tuna tartare and a Gin Fizz cocktail for its $30 Plate Date.
Romberg’s, on the top floor of Crystalbrook Kingsley, is pairing its signature Earp martini with a classic gilda, with city views thrown in for good measure. Keep the party going all night long with a late-night sugar rush at Bernie’s Bar, where for $25 you can grab a plate of Bernie’s classic Fairy Bread and a Milo Milky Way cocktail.
In culinary-rich Newcastle East, there’s a cheap parking offer, a food tour with Newy Tour Co (see above) and a huge number of Plates Dates and other events. One of Newcastle’s three Signature events, the Autumnal Garden Party at Customs House Hotel on April 11 and 18 promises live entertainment and 4 hours of food and beverages.
Our Throsby, which represents five villages in Throsby Basin, is showcasing seafood-themed Plate Dates in Carrington, Islington, Maryville, Tighes Hill and Wickham. Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club in Wickham is doing a Goan-style fish and prawn curry paired with First Creek Shiraz or Semillon, while Uprising Bakery in Maryville is topping its hugely popular sourdough breadstick with fish pâté.
The Prawn Ajillo dish at Earp Distillery is seriously yum, the prawns cooked in a Napoli-style sauce, served with flatbread and Earp’s No.8 Dry Gin & Tonic. In addition to this Plate Date, Earp is hosting Shuck Fest on April 12, where gin, oysters and icecream come together in all sorts of unexpected ways.
You can explore Throsby with guided tours with Newy Food Adventures on April 4, 11, 18 and 26.
Have Your Cake And Eat It Too
Reece loves Newcastle and Newcastle loves Reece. As we said in our intro, Reece Hignell is a former MasterChef contestant and one of Newcastle Food Month’s two ambassadors.
The owner of Cake Boi makes cakes that are nostalgic, indulgent and so perfect that people will cross town for them. He spent six months developing the recipe for his lemon tart, and while that’s the cake he is proudest of, his favourite cake is the sponge cake replicating the one his grandmother made.
For Plate Date, Cake Boi is offering two slices of cake and two drinks for $30, but the star attraction for Cake Boi fans is the Cake Boi High Tea x Roundhouse at Crystalbrook Kingsley. Every Saturday in April, Reece and Crystalbrook Kingsley executive chef Joey Ingram will be creating an array of sweet and savoury creations, presented against a backdrop of cello and violin music, and a grand Rosé tower by First Creek Wines.
I’ve had a preview of these creations and, believe me, they are exquisite. From a dainty salmon tart with dill and crème fraiche in a pastry tart shell that’s so thin and delicate it’s known as the “apprentice killer”, to Madame Quail, a tiny Croque Madame topped with a quail’s egg, it truly is artistry on a plate.
Foodie Sleepover at Crystalbrook
Newcastle Food Month’s official hotel partner, Crystalbrook Kingsley, is hosting not only the Cake Boi High Tea but a suite of other events, including a lunch with You Had Me At Cake author Emilia Jackson, and two Sunday long lunches showcasing guest chefs from two outstanding Hunter Valley restaurants, Muse and EXP.
Located in one of Newcastle’s most interesting buildings, the 1977 Roundhouse, the Crystalbrook Kingsley is elevating the visitor experience with a luxurious Foodie Sleepover that includes cocktails and local goodies such as Binnorie Dairy cheese and Pukara Estate products. Its restaurant and bar, Romberg’s, is the perfect place for a nightcap or a meal with a view.
Something For Everyone
From chef collaborations and winery dinners to beach parties, pop-ups, long lunches, seafood feasts, harbour cruises, and hands-on experiences, Newcastle Food Month has something for everyone.
Pukara Estate’s Newcastle East store will host olive oil tastings, Foghorn Brewery will host music evenings and a producers’ dinner, live jazz will entertain guests at Signal Box, and Harrison’s is inviting guests on a food and wine journey through the Italian region of Campania.
Wine bar Cara, which has quickly developed a reputation for its thoughtful food and eclectic wine list, will host an intimate winemaker’s dinner, while artists will share their work and stories while you indulge in cocktails and canapés at Lolas.
You’ve surely heard of Sukimama, the hole-in-the-wall eatery in Islington where Suki Kwon is wowing folk with Korean street food like her mum and grandma made. Over the four Sundays in April, she’ll be serving her food at the Mereweather Surf Club. With First Creek Wines on offer and a DJ on hand for good vibes, you’ll be able to kick back in the late afternoon/early evening and reflect on how blessed Newcastle is to have such a vibrant food scene and a festival like Newcastle Food Month that is inviting us to tuck in.
Go on, take a bite.
Program and bookings at newcastlefoodmonth.com.au
If you enjoyed this story, you might enjoy our Shucking Around story on the Shuck Fest at Earp Distilling.
