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New York chef and writer key attraction at Melbourne Food and Wine Festival

Hilary McNevin and Roslyn Grundy

New interest: Kylie Mackinlay and Luke Mutton, second from right and right , have sold their cafe, Dead Man Espresso, to focus on Sun Moth Canteen, their CBD project with Jackson Duxbury and Tod La Mar, left and second from left.
New interest: Kylie Mackinlay and Luke Mutton, second from right and right , have sold their cafe, Dead Man Espresso, to focus on Sun Moth Canteen, their CBD project with Jackson Duxbury and Tod La Mar, left and second from left.Armelle Habib

Scholarly chef Dan Barber, from Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns in New York, will be a key attraction at next year's Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. Visiting Australia for the first time, Barber will speak at the Theatre of Ideas on the research behind his book The Third Plate: Field Notes on the Future of Food. Tickets go on sale at noon on Thursday at melbournefoodandwine.com.au. The full program is out on November 18.

Luke Mutton and Kylie McKinlay have sold their five-year-old South Melbourne cafe, Dead Man Espresso, to Rob Chibitti (ex Liar Liar) and former St Ali chef Mark Richardson, who intend to keep the name. Mutton and McKinlay will focus on Sun Moth Canteen, their new CBD venture with Jackson Duxbury and Tod La Mar, due to open late November.

How much is a Good Food Guide hat worth? Analysis by restaurant bookings company Dimmi suggests gaining a hat can boost turnover by up to $1 million in Sydney and $200,000 in Melbourne. Why the disparity? Dimmi founder Stevan Premutico says Melbourne diners are more loyal to the restaurants they love and less inclined to change their dining habits despite a fluctuation in the number of hats.

Get ready to rum bar, St Kilda. On Friday the Nelson opens in the former Slow Down! @ Harley Court, next to the Dog's Bar, with a rum-focused drinks list and a menu based on sharing dishes. The Nelson, at 2/56 Acland Street, will open Tuesday to Friday from 4pm and at weekends from noon.

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Carlton's Epocha is celebrating the cocktail of the moment, the negroni, with a matched five-course dinner on October 23. They'll serve dishes such as suckling pig with currants alongside variations on the gin, Campari and vermouth theme. It's $125 a head. Details: 9036 4949.

Collins Street restaurant-bar the Italian, which closed on June 23, was put into liquidation on September 3, and is in the hands of city-based liquidators BRI Ferrier. Owner Roberto Scheriani would not comment, but did say he planned to open his next venture, Capitano, on the site later this month.

Roslyn GrundyRoslyn Grundy is Good Food's deputy editor and the former editor of The Age Good Food Guide.

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