New season and fresh flavours at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), where menus are built around great produce, confident ideas and food people genuinely enjoy. As one of Australia’s most recognisable venues, the MCG offers the opportunity to bring people together through food.
For Executive Chef, Dylan, and his team, menu development at the MCG always starts with intention. “When we create menus for the MCG, the food has to feel right for the setting,” he says. “Not overworked, not overcomplicated – just great produce, strong ideas and food people genuinely enjoy.”
Food that reflects the MCG
At the centre of the MCG’s culinary approach is a simple but defining philosophy: Victoria’s best, flavoured by Melbourne. Victoria provides access to exceptional local produce, while Melbourne’s food culture brings diversity, creativity, and confidence.
“It’s not just a line we like the sound of,” Dylan explains. “It’s how we cook, how we source, and how we build every menu.” This philosophy guides how the team thinks about sourcing, cooking and menu design across the venue.
Together, Victoria, Melbourne, and Delaware North create menus that feel grounded yet expressive, with food that reflects both the region and the people behind it.
Familiar food, reimagined
This season, the Delaware North culinary team leaned into a more playful and personal direction, drawing inspiration from the foods that first sparked their love of cooking.
“We started talking about the dishes we grew up with,” Dylan says. “The flavours that bring back memories — the kind of food that doesn’t need explaining.”
Roast chicken. Chilli crab. Iced treats. Old‑school sweets. These familiar favourites became the starting point for a simple question: what do these classics look like when they’re reimagined for the MCG?
The result is a menu collection that feels nostalgic without feeling dated. Familiar flavours are treated with care and confidence, delivering comfort and excitement in equal measure. “It’s food that makes you smile when it arrives,” Dylan says, “and reminds you why you fell in love with eating in the first place.”
Exceptional food starts with exceptional ingredients
The MCG culinary team works closely with Victorian suppliers, many of them small, specialist producers focused on doing one thing exceptionally well.
“We don’t ask them to supply everything,” Dylan explains. “We ask them to supply their best.”
By letting great produce lead, the menus stay honest and considered. “When the ingredient is that good,” Dylan adds, “you don’t need to overthink it.”
More than just a meal
Food at the MCG plays an important role in shaping the overall guest experience. It brings people together, sparks conversation and becomes part of the memories that guests take with them.
“Food helps set the tone,” Dylan says. “It becomes part of the story people tell when they leave.”
For those inspired by cooking with quality produce, strong ideas, and a sense of place, there’s an opportunity to explore where a culinary career with us could lead.
