Prawns on ice. A pavlova collapsing slightly in the heat before anyone’s even cut into it. Someone’s uncle manning the barbecue while a fruit mince pie goes untouched next to a bowl of mangoes. An Australian Christmas has its own particular flavour – equal parts English tradition and backyard improvisation, all of it eaten a little too fast in 30-degree heat. This year, that world gets a proper stage. The Good Food & Wine Show is bringing a dedicated Christmas Edition to Sydney and Melbourne, and at its heart sits something the show has never done before: the world’s first immersive experience built around The Great Australian Bake Off.
It’s a pairing that makes more sense the longer you sit with it. Bake Off has always been less about competition than about generosity – about baking as an act of care, a way of showing up for the people you love with something made by hand. That spirit sits naturally alongside Christmas, a season defined by the same instinct: gathering people together, feeding them well, making a bit of a mess in the process.
At the centre of it all is The Festive Kitchen, a 120-seat theatre where some of the country’s most loved chefs and Bake Off personalities will take to the stage across the weekend – working through festive table styling, showstopping bakes and holiday entertaining with the kind of warmth the show built its reputation on. Miguel Maestre is confirmed, alongside chocolate virtuoso Kirsten Tibballs and Bake Off judge Darren Purchese, with Melbourne audiences also getting Nat Thaipun of Vue de Monde.
For those who’d rather have flour on their own hands than simply watch someone else’s, The Cooking School offers small, ticketed masterclasses cooking directly alongside the professionals. And for the youngest guests, Little Bakers Corner turns the whole Bake Off spirit – creativity, imperfection, the joy of making something for someone else – into a space built just for them, decorating festive treats and dreaming up their own Christmas creations.
Beyond the Bake Off world, the show unfolds into its own kind of festive marketplace. The Festival Village gathers premium producers, gourmet gifts and seasonal delicacies beneath a towering Christmas tree, food sampling and wine tastings woven throughout. Just beside it, Baker’s Village brings together the country’s leading baking brands and artisan suppliers, for anyone who leaves inspired enough to keep going at home. There’s also Wine Selectors’ Secret Sips, a playful blind tasting daring guests to uncover three mystery wines, and Good Eat Street waiting at the end of it all for one last bite.
It all adds up to a day that feels less like an event and more like the beginning of the season proper – the moment Christmas stops being an idea and starts being something you can taste.
The Good Food & Wine Show Christmas Edition lands in Sydney from 20–22 November at ICC Sydney, before moving to Melbourne’s MCEC from 4–6 December. Tickets are on sale now via goodfoodshow.com.au.
