Favourites say farewell

Two more Melbourne restaurants are facing drastic measures. Mercy Bar+Eatery has gone into voluntary liquidation, while the Aylesbury is shutting to reopen as Bomba.

The Aylesbury is the second business from Jesse and Vanessa Gerner, a rooftop bar and restaurant that opened in September 2011 at 103 Lonsdale Street as a sibling to the couple's Gertrude Street eatery, Ananda. While the bar has been buzzing along quite nicely, the dining room has not been performing as well. ''Winter hurts us,'' Jesse Gerner says. ''The kind of food we do takes up to six chefs to do well; the figures aren't adding up.''

The Aylesbury's chef, Seth James, is moving on but will give a farewell dinner of some favourite dishes. He will be replaced by Anada head chef Andrew Fisk, with Gerner also getting back into the kitchen. ''I want to get back in there. Bomba will be my version of a Spanish workers' bar,'' Gerner says, describing it as ''a notch down'' from Anada - simple food with a more casual, bar setting.

Gerner is also selling his share of cafe St Ali North in Brunswick, which he bought with coffee entrepreneur Salvatore Malatesta at the end of last year. ''It's been pulling me away from what I really want to be doing,'' he says. Gerner is planning on starting an import business, Ananda Imports, ''to supply a lot of the drinks we'll be selling in Bomba'', he says.

The last dinner for the Aylesbury will be August 24, with the farewell dinner planned for August 26. Bomba will open late September.

Then, in what must be one of the most short-lived revamps ever, the Mercy Bar+Eatery officially closed last week, with a sign put in the front door simply stating: ''Closed until further notice.''

The venue, at 31 Flinders Lane, formerly known as Virginia Plain, has gone into voluntary liquidation. This was confirmed by Wayne Benton of Sellers Muldoon Benton, the city-based administrators who are now managing the business's situation ''as it was not reaching the turnover it required to make it viable'', Benton said.

Mercy's last service was Saturday night with staff informed of the closure on Sunday. The space, owned by restaurateur Marco Santucci, relaunched as Mercy Bar + Eatery on June 19 after closing Virginia Plain on June 15 for a small refurb. Santucci was unable to be contacted for comment.

Recipes with refinement

French fashion designer Christian Dior loved food and cooking so much, he had a book of his recipes published in 1972 called La Cuisine Cousu-Main. Only 4000 copies of the book were printed. Want to see one? Head to the Art of Elegance dinner, celebrating seven decades of vintage fashion at Como House on September 5, and a copy of Dior's book will be on display. The evening will be presented by Alison Waters (pictured), of the Waters Group, a publicity and arts consultancy. Waters was given the book by her friend Aurel E. Dessewffy, who discovered it at an auction house in Camberwell in the early '90s. The evening will include 62 couture dresses to be modelled as well as a sit-down dinner with ''one or two hors' d'oeuvres for the evening chosen from Dior's book'', Waters says. The team from The Stables of Como (full review page 4) will create the menu. The cost is $100 a person and money raised will go towards preservation of the National Trust's costume collection.

For bookings, phone 9656 9889.

Young talent time

The Electrolux Appetite for Excellence 2013 winners were announced early last week. The awards, held in Melbourne for the first time, at Hilton on the Park in East Melbourne, were established in 2005 and are designed to encourage, support and celebrate young talent and future of the industry, both front and back of house. The Young Chef award went to Jacob Davey, a sous chef at Marque Restaurant in Sydney. Melbourne's Sonia Bandera, a sommelier at Rockpool Bar & Grill, was awarded Young Waiter of the Year, with Hugh Holland, a waiter at the RACV City Club, receiving the runner-up award. James Viles, chef and owner of Biota Dining in Bowral, NSW was awarded Young Restaurateur of the Year. Prizes include opportunities to travel and work with overseas industry leaders, prize money and kitchen appliances. Congrats to all.

Bedford branches out

The cafe that was Marmalade and Soul in Clifton Hill closed more than five months ago but the space is getting some soul back with chef Andy Bedford moving in over the next month and changing its name to Charlie's. Bedford, who is currently head chef at Fitzroy restaurant Charcoal Lane, finishes up there this Saturday and will slowly move into the Queens Parade venue to personalise and tweak the interior. Bedford moved to Australia from Britain four years ago and this is his first time going into business on his own. ''It's a massive step,'' he says, planning on creating a simple, local menu. ''I'm looking forward to it.'' Charlie's will be open from early October for breakfast and lunch from Wednesday to Sunday, and for dinner on Wednesday to Saturday, dishing up a ''modern Australian menu with European influences''. Who will replace him at Charcoal Lane is still to be decided.

Caring cooks step up to help

The food-rescue group FareShare launched its much-needed new kitchen space late last week with a celebrity cook-a-thon. Chefs Daniel Wilson, Benjamin Cooper and Ian Curley joined Fairfax contributor Dani Valent and former MasterChef contestant Alice Zaslavsky, among others, to cook up 5000 meals in 12 hours, including beef korma, chicken veloute and sausage curry. FareShare started 12 years ago and the group's chief executive, Marcus Godinho (pictured), says the need for food for some people in our community is steadily increasing. ''Two years ago we were cooking 10,000 meals a week and we've needed to double that,'' he says. The organisation has moved into a large space just a street away from its original kitchen in Abbotsford and the goal is to make and distribute 40,000 meals a fortnight.

Peninsula pouring

Cellar doors come to town with the Mornington Peninsula Wineries Roadshow. Twenty-six peninsula wineries will set up shop for two hours on September 3 at Comme restaurant in Alfred Place, where you can meet the winemakers, sniff, swirl and spit their wines, and buy bottles to take home. Participating wineries include Foxeys Hangout, Hurley Vineyard, Scorpo Wine, Yabby Lake Vineyard, and Ten Minutes by Tractor, plus there will be regional cheeses and breads to taste.

Tickets are $30. To book, go to mpva.com.au.

Butcher tips to say thank you

Don't know your rib eye from your rump? Then pop along to a meat masterclass run by Young Gun Hospo. Full of juicy, meaty facts, Adam North, from Hopkins River Beef, demonstrates the sustainable way to butcher the whole beast, while Matt Kennedy, from Little Hunter, explains the best way to treat each cut - and there's dinner and wine to follow. Money raised will go to the CFA, which has saved Hopkins River from fire and flood. Masterclass: August 26 and September 9; $79; Little Hunter, 195 Collins Street, city.

Standout chef makes No. 8 the one to watch again

Crown is giving 10-year-old restaurant No.8 a facelift and putting it under the guidance of lauded young Brit John Lawson (pictured). Lawson arrived in Melbourne in 2010 to open Gordon Ramsay's Maze restaurant as head chef and after its closure went on to run Crown's Mr Hive restaurant on the same site. Lawson will get his name on the marquee, with the restaurant being rebadged to ''No.8 by John Lawson''. The 110-seat room will be refreshed. Local produce and Lawson's classic technique will highlight the menu. Lawson says he is ''seeking standout ingredients grown specifically for No.8 from local suppliers that will complete my signature dishes''. Peter Crinis, group executive general manager Crown Hotels, retail and food and beverage, says: ''Giving John the creative reins is a reflection of Crown's commitment to fostering talent in the hospitality industry.'' At Mr Hive, Jodie Wallace has been promoted to chef de cuisine. No.8 by John Lawson is due to open in mid-October.