More than a meal: the Jewish Food Festival brings Sydney’s Jewish community together
The Jewish Food Festival will return to Sydney this Sunday, 22 March 2026, bringing the community together for a day of food, culture and connection following the challenges of 2025, including the Bondi terror attack.
Now in its fourth year and organised by Shalom Collective, the event will run from 10am to 3pm at a new secure, all-weather venue in the Eastern Suburbs.
Rabbi Alon Meltzer at last year’s Food Festival
This year, the festival will feature a special tribute honouring the 15 victims of the Bondi attack. A series of stalls will showcase their favourite meals, including Hungarian cabbage rolls, a Soviet wafer cake and plov, among others.
Rabbi Alon Meltzer, Director of Programs at Shalom Collective, said the tribute was created to remember those killed.
“We have a market section of the favourite foods of the 15 people who were killed at Bondi,” he said. “For example, Rabbi Eli’s favourite food was Hungarian cabbage rolls. We have a Soviet wafer cake, which is a dessert. Someone is making traditional plov. It’s a really beautiful tribute to remember those who were killed.”
He said the event was about more than food.
“We love to gather and eat, we don’t need an excuse to do so, but now more than ever there is a need to come together and enhance our Jewish pride and identity,” Rabbi Meltzer said. “The Jewish Food Festival does exactly that! We look forward to welcoming community back; we know safety and security is paramount and we have changed location in order to provide you with the very best experience.”
“All guests will be greeted with the inaugural pickle fountain,” he said. “It’s a great experience and before they’ve even walked through the door, everyone will be able to munch on a pickle.”
The festival will feature around 40 kosher vendors serving Jewish culinary traditions from around the world, live cooking demonstrations, shaded seating with music, and relaxed Shabbat table conversations. A separate children’s zone will offer free, immersive, story-led activities focused on Shabbat, including a glow-in-the-dark chalk experience.
Adamama’s stall last year
Highlights include cooking demonstrations by the Monday Morning Cooking Club to mark the launch of their new cookbook, where they will teach how to make salmon pastrami, fish cakes and roasted apple matzo kugel.
Chef Michael Rantissi from Kepos Street Kitchen will share recipes from his latest book “Salata”, while internationally acclaimed chef Ido Zarmi will demonstrate three refined versions of traditional Jewish dishes. There will also be a hands-on sustainability session with Adamama.
Small-group Shabbat table talks, limited to 12 people each, will feature Sydney speakers discussing culture, family, tradition, identity and contemporary issues.
Food stalls will offer favourites including falafel, sabich, shawarma, knafeh, spanakopita, bourekas, jachnun (Yemenite bread) and bagels. Vendors include Basta, going kosher for the first time, Sabbaba, Brooklyn Boy Bagels, OMG! Donuts, Airy Fairy Floss, Friendship Bakery and DAAS Gelato.
Shalom Collective is a Sydney not-for-profit that creates contemporary Jewish experiences to celebrate culture, deepen identity and build community. The festival is supported by the JCA, Multicultural NSW and the JCA LotBen Fund in memory of Lotka and Bernard Ferster.
Tickets are available at www.shalomcollective.com.au and must be purchased in advance, with sales closing this Wednesday.
