A Filipino Fiesta at Mission to Seafarers

This Melbourne Food and Wine Festival (MFWF), The Entree.Pinays will be throwing a weekend-long Filipino Barrio Fiesta by the Sea in partnership with Mission to Seafarers Victoria, in recognition and celebration of their work in caring for seafarers since 1857.

The event will be held over MFWF’s final weekend on Saturday, April 1 and Sunday, April 2, as The Entree.Pinays share Filipino cuisine, culture, and community at Melbourne’s historic Mission to Seafarers in Docklands.

In true Filipino style, dive hands-first into their catch of the day: a Seafood Kamayan Plate of sustainable local produce, paired with a moreish selection of calamansi-based dipping sauces.

Their jam-packed weekend program features colourful street food, dessert, and good vibes aplenty from local Filipino talent and includes:

• The Calamansi Story launch.
• Cooking & Conversations with Filipino food stars Erwan Heussaff and Luisa Brimble.
• A Kalamansi and Kape Bar; and
• The Merkado Pantry.

The Entree.Pinays is a Melbourne-based cultural agency of enterprising Filipinas contributing their diverse skills in business, design, storytelling, and hospitality with a purpose to grow representation, celebration and investment in Filipino cuisine, culture, and community. 

All seafarers and port workers are the unsung and unknown frontline workers for the movement of essential cargo globally, including to and from our port city of Melbourne.

For decades, the Philippines has supplied the largest share of labour on the world’s cargo ships. Today, about 60 per cent of seafarers arriving in Melbourne’s ports are from the Philippines.

With Australia being home to around 408,000 individuals with Filipino ancestry, The Entree.Pinays wanted to bring new awareness, audiences, and support to Mission to Seafarers, and be a channel to activate this space for Melburnians.

But most especially, for the seafarers who rely on their services as part of the short respite from the lonely and dangerous life on cargo ships.

Kain na tayo! Let’s eat!

Tickets: melbournefoodandwine.com.au •