For our second issue of Forkful, we’ve dug a little deeper into the ways that food shape our interactions with the world and with each other. A city of literature renowned for its dining, Melbourne is overflowing with food stories. All we had to do was scoop them up.

The words that you’ll find between these pages fall into that space where food is folded into the fabric of our lives. The tastes of home in the wood-lined confines of the Swiss Club high above the bustle below, sweetness baked into memories of a grandmother’s love of cooking for her family, the echoes of history in the social ritual of a Japanese tea ceremony, the nostalgia of a child’s love of lollies, the camaraderie of a tequila hangover. We’ve spent time with the stallholders at Queen Victoria Market whose business acumen is second to their love of spinning a good yarn, sharing a slice of aged cheddar. We’ve walked the gardens of Lentil As Anything in the Abbotsford Convent, at once restaurant and community. We’ve chatted gnocchi and a love of kitchens with the head chef of Piccolo Grand. We’ve drunk coffee and talked growing (and eating) with farmers at markets all across the city.