Highlights of Melbourne Food & Wine Festival 2015

■ Heaven on a stick arrives in Melbourne via Hong Kong courtesy of Canadian chef Matt Abergel, who has dedicated himself to perfecting the Japanese skewers known as yakitori at Yardbird, one of Asia's most acclaimed restaurants. Abergel will join Adam Liston at Collingwood restaurant Northern Light for a contemporary exploration of Japanese cuisine on March 3 ($140).

At Richmond's suave Mister Jennings on March 4, owner Ryan Flaherty teams with Singapore-based Ryan Clift of the Tippling Club and Michelin-starred Italian wunderkind Lorenzo Cogo to reprise a spectacular dinner the three mates cooked together in Milan in 2009 ($160).

Those willing to take a trip on March 14 will find Simon Rogan – whose British restaurant L'Enclume featured in the second episode of The Trip – in cahoots with Robin Wickens at the Royal Mail in Dunkeld. Recently renovated rooms promise to be as sumptuous as the meal ($295).

There are several more starry pairings: check the Global Chef & Wine Dinners section of the program.

■ At the Highway 1 Party at the Abbotsford Convent on March 7, established and rising heroes of the Victorian wine scene get together with the likes of Aaron Turner (formerly of Loam, now more often of Nashville) and Josh Murphy of the Builders Arms Hotel for a $120 block-party night with DJs. Wash down spit-roasted pig with wines from Mount Mary, Bests, Mac Forbes, Bill Downie and Michael Dhillon's Bindi.

■ Since 1956, cannelloni aficionados have made a pilgrimage to the Footscray premises of T. Cavallaro & Sons. Legend has it that patriarch Tommaso Cavallaro catered to the Melbourne Olympics; an Olympian appetite will be the thing to bring to the family's Spend a Day in Sicily Italian working lunches being held on four dates during the festival ($70).

■ Thanks to the Nobu empire, food lovers worldwide are aware of the Japanese influence on Peru. Fewer are familiar with Peru's Chinese-accented "Chifa" cuisine. On March 9, head to the centre of Melbourne for a Chifa Dinner at Pastuso, a taste of South America enlivened with flavours of ginger and spring onion; $85, or $125 with matched wines.

■ Norway comes to the northern suburbs on March 13 and 14 when Oslo's Food Studio invites fans of foraging to embark on a Scandi-style excursion along Merri Creek and further afield with Melbourne chef Matt Wilkinson. Search out edible greens, learn about the area's history and reflect on food sustainability while working up an appetite for a creekside meal made from the foods you've gathered, accompanied by natural wines and entertainment. Food Studio Visits Merri Creek, $150.

■ Cognac, technically, comes only from Cognac in France – but closer to home, the folk at the Bass & Flinders Distillery in Red Hill on the Mornington Peninsula have been ageing grape spirit in French oak barrels. On March 14 they will hold a twilight celebration of their first release of a four-year-matured spirit with a three-course Distillery Barrel Room Dinner ($155). Transport to and from Melbourne can be arranged for the night.

■ Take a seat, grab a glass and a fork, and get ready to meet your match at any of a series of relaxed, banter-filled food-and-wine matching lunches at the Melbourne Town Hall. At each Acqua Panna Perfect Match session, a pair of wine-savvy hosts specialising in everything from seafood to street food and the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent will challenge conventional ideas about culinary couplings and take participants along for the ride. (February 28 & March 1, $85)