Fashion and food are two of life’s indulgences that cannot be ignored, and when Melbourne restaurant Prix Fixe recently hosted Designer Bites as part of the Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival Cultural Program, it went straight to the top of our interest list.
Chef Phillipa Sibley and owner Jason Jones delivered the most inspired and theatrical four-course feast with wines matched to perfection and service that no one could sneeze at. Each course that was set down in front of me was by far the most imaginative I have seen and when it comes to contemporary composition in such a diluted food marketplace, it is a feat to deliver something that is both on trend and enjoyable.
‘Mock Turtle Soup’, ‘The Mad Hatter’, ‘White Rabbit in a Waist Coat’ and ‘Queen of Hearts Tart’ followed the evening’s theme of ‘Alice In Her Wonderland’, and as I slowly but intently enjoyed each course, I definitely fell down the rabbit hole into a new world of gastronomy. ‘The Mad Hatter’ merged tastes and textures that usually oppose and somehow parsnip crème caramel, king fish and mustard fruits married on my plate. Two hats off to the entire team for the evening – there wasn’t a moment that my glass was empty before being topped back up and considering the full house of diners, every plate that passed me look just as perfect as the next.
Each course was also complimented by the works of two local designers; milliner Richard Nylon and local label Micky In The Van. Richard Nylon presented a millinery collection that told Alice’s tale by hand; complex and uncommon, dreamy yet frank, detailed with richness and perfected to the very last finishing touches. It was as if Richard was designing millinery pieces for the Queen of Hearts herself, to the highest of quality and with just the right amount of quirk.
Each model twisted and twirled around the room between each course, circling our tables and stepping into character, draped in outfits handmade by the incredible Micky In The Van – a label well known for its eclectic and fantastical nature.
I’ve watched umpteen fashion shows and fine-dined numerous times in the past, but Designer Bites definitely pushed my expectations of both. Fashion at its finest, food in its most creative form and theatrics that transcend reality; if Alice had been at our table she would have agreed: “I can’t go back to yesterday because I was a different person then.”
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The Fashion Advocate x
