Victoria will bring chef Alejandro Saravia's taste of the state to Fed Square

Alejandro Saravia will open a second restaurant in Federation Square by autumn, taking his Farmer's Daughters concept showcasing Gippsland's producers and applying it to all of Victoria, the chef has announced exclusively to Good Food.

"One of the positive signs we saw during COVID was people wanting to know more about the provenance of their food and the story behind it," says Saravia, who was born in Peru but has embraced Victoria as his second home.

Saravia, who opened Farmer's Daughters in January, will build similar relationships with producers such as Apollo Bay Fishermen's Co-op to excite diners who visit the new restaurant, named, fittingly enough, Victoria by Farmer's Daughters.

"If we can encourage everyone coming to Victoria [the restaurant] to experience a different region on their next holiday or long weekend, that's a great thing," says Saravia, who recently left Pastuso to work on the project.

Situated in the Yarra Building at Federation Square, which was slated in 2019 to become an Apple store, the joint collaboration between Federation Square and Farmer's Daughters will host 180 diners across a dining room with an open kitchen, river-facing terrace and private dining rooms, featuring mostly Victorian materials. Agents of Architecture, which designed Farmer's Daughters, will work on the project.

Illustrating the farm-to-table commitment, an ingredients table will display the current menu's produce, while a test kitchen will host masterclasses that bring producers into the heart of Melbourne. Saravia will invite producers to visit the kitchen and assist chefs in menu development, contributing their knowledge of the land. An online store will sell items from many of the producers.

The drinks list will also be solely Victorian, making the most of what Saravia describes as a highly creative local drinks industry.

A head chef is being recruited, and will work closely with Farmer's Daughters executive chef David Boyle.

Yarra Building, Federation Square, Melbourne, victoriarestaurant.com.au