Q: If you had to describe your work at Shed 5 in three words, what would they be?
A: Rustic, wood, fire.

Q: What was the last great meal you enjoyed?
A: At The Bridge Room in Sydney – owned by Ross Lusted, who is also the chef, it was just awarded two hats in the The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide. Ross serves interesting food that’s not too fussy but very original in that it comes from all types of cuisines and techniques, but is very natural on the plate.

Q: Do you have a go-to source for food and wine news?
A: Twitter (follow him @vasdonoudis), blogs and the food journos at The Age and The Australian.

Q: Is there any produce you’re feeling particularly passionate about right now?
A: All the Victorian meat, seafood, smallgoods, fruit and vegetables I know of and don’t know of yet. For the new season, I’ve added a Spring bean soup with stinging nettle and four cheese tortellini, as well as a a Spring Greek village salad, to the menu.

Q: Finally, is there a must-try dish on your menu at Shed 5?
A: My wood oven roasted half Bannockburn chicken. After 14-16 minutes in the wood fire, it’s as juicy and crisp a chicken as you will ever have.

Chisato found her way to Common Man via Platform 28 and has been here since the first meal and says that at Common Man ‘we’re a family’.

She has eaten her way around the menu but sticks to her absolute favourite – the pumpkin salad. The salad is slow-roasted Jap pumpkin, chickpeas, red onion, cherry truss tomatoes and baby spinach dressed with a light honey mustard vinaigrette. It gets her ‘every time’ and it’s always her recommendation to diners. No prizes for guessing what Chisato will recommend you when you visit then?

Traditional and modern cooking methods, using seasonal ingredients where dishes are served from oven to table, reflect the raw and industrial space of Shed 5. Printed cans and glass jars adorning the shelves above the 3-tonne steel bar provide diners with a historical reminder of South Wharf Promenade’s previous life. There are 74 seats inside, including a private dining room for 12, as well as the 40 seats outside with stunning views of the Yarra River.

Follow Vas on twitter (@vasdonoudis) for a birds eye view of goings on in the kitchen, and have a sneak peek here at the beautiful venue and dishes (courtesy of Vas’ iphone).  You can also follow Shed 5 on twitter and facebook.

Kara has spent time restaurants since she was a child as her Dad taught hospitality. She started off as an apprentice in the kitchen but after having a baby she decided to try working on the floor and enjoys the interaction with the diners. Especially as The Sharing House is more about ‘fun dining’ than ‘fine dining’.

If you’re visiting The Sharing House for the first time, Kara recommends you try the chickpea fries with homemade ketchup with a glass of Paco & Lola ‘Lolo’, a Spanish Albarino. Sounds like the perfect place to start before you begin your tour of the menu.

Given how incredibly chilly it’s become in Melbourne of late, we thought it appropriate to start the series with a mulled wine recipe that’s been a family secret for 25 years – courtesy of the handsome Gab, Venue Manager at The Boatbuilders Yard.  Even more timely seeing as their mulled wine was recently voted as one of Melbourne’s Top Five, in the Pieces of Victoria July enews!  Did you know you can order a thermos of this delicious, warming brew at The Boatbuilders Yard, and enjoy it whilst sitting in front of the roaring fire place, with your complimentary Nanna rug?  Picture perfect winter.

Foodie Films – Mulled Wine with Gab at Boatbuilders

Simon is an Englishman and like every good Englishman loves his chips. As the Common Man specialises in bringing you comfort food, Simon’s favourites off the menu are the C-Man burger, with extra chips and pulled pork roll with yes, you guessed it, chips. Sometimes with a beer as well.

Unless you’re incredibly hungry next time you visit The Common Man, perhaps just stick to the menu. Or perhaps your winter appetite will make an extra order of chips hard to resist?

She first met head chef Kengo Hiromatsu when they worked at Nobu. When Kengo heard Eriko had returned to Melbourne he asked if she wanted to work together at a new restaurant called Akachochin.

Soon after Akachochin’s opening, the popular dishes were soon apparent and Eriko’s favourite is the hiramasa namerou with rice crackers – chopped kingfish with spring onion, moromiso, kizami-wasabi, olive oil served with rice cracker.

An ‘arduous’ task has been working her way through the 50 sakes on the menu –and with more to come Eriko is bracing herself for the next tasting session! After a shift Eriko enjoys sitting down with an Asahi beer for starters and the next can be ‘whichever’! A sake, perhaps?

Tonight you can start your long weekend with delicious mulled wine served in thermoses at The Boatbuilders Yard. Meander down to The Bridge for a $3 pot or $4 basic spirit from 4pm till 7pm. Or you could head to Meat Market for a $5 pint or glass of wine or a $10 cocktail from 5pm till 7pm.

Later in the evening, if you’d like to listen to music head to Melbourne Public or The Common Man for some acoustic sounds. Or to The Bridge for their regular Credance Fridays playing classics like Lou Reed, David Bowie and the Stones.

If you fancy date night on Saturday head to Bohemian from 6pm for four courses for $40.

On Sunday Meat Market are honoring our Queen with a traditional roast served all day including Yorkshire pudding and the UK’s favourite Newcastle Brown Ale. As part of Melbourne Food and Wine Festival Melbourne Public are also offering a Catalan-style roast lamb.

On Monday you can head down for some breakfast to:

The Boatbuilders Yard from 7am
Citizen Café from 8am
Meat Market from 9am
The Common Man from 10am
Melbourne Public from 12pm
Bohemian from 12pm

Akachohin,  The Bridge and The Sharing House will be closed.

He’s been working in bars for the past seven years and a stint at Red Bennies really honed his cocktail skills. He’s a man that prefers to make sours and fizzes – his favourite is ‘an easy going’ spiced rum sour served in a short glass with a little bit of ice. Sounds like the perfect winter drink.

Working at The Bridge at South Wharf instead of a nightclub means he’s enjoying the Yarra view and has noticed the ‘weather changes every four minutes’ but that’s Melbourne for you. It certainly doesn’t stop the locals dropping in and saying hello at cocktail hour.