In his element: Vincenzo Vaccaro ate up the food, and atmosphere, at the Melbourne Salami Festa. Credit:Meredith O'Shea
It was a tale of two vastly different Melbournes: salami-lovers on one side; vegans on the other.
As the weather gods finally turned up the heat, thousands flocked to two wildly different events on Sunday.
Meat lovers had a bloody good time at the annual Melbourne Salami Festa - curiously held in progressive Northcote, where vegetarian cafes and wholefood stores sprout like wild dandelions.
And World Vegan Day was celebrated at the Melbourne Showgrounds, which just weeks ago hosted cattle and sheep bred to be slaughtered.
Bliss of being meat free: Ballarat couple Jake Ewings and Mitzi Radford at World Vegan Day at Melbourne Showgrounds.Credit:Meredith O'Shea
Committed vegan Jake Ewings, 25, of Ballarat, said many of his friends were conflicted about the venue.
‘‘Some vegans won’t support anything whatsoever that has anything to do with animal agriculture. I think that’s a bit extreme," he said.
Girlfriend Mitzi Radford, 23, who grew up on a Mansfield farm where cows became family meals, said her parents told her ‘‘no you’re not’’ when she declared that she was vegan four years ago. They came to accept it.
World Vegan Day organisers claimed they had exceeded last year’s attendance of 20,000.
The event has gone from a picnic in a park in 2003 with just 100 people to an event with 240 stalls, and attractions such as vegan speed-dating and cooking demonstrations, and talks on everything from vegan dentistry to freeing dolphins from theme parks and vegan body building.
The non-meat crowd found nirvana, stuffing their faces with vegan almond nougat, mushroom burgers and soy kebabs. Stores were also selling everything from organic bamboo undies to meat-free dog treats.
Over at the Salami Festa, Vincenzo Vaccaro, 73, felt so at home among the hall of deli meats like mortadella, Hungarian sausage and sopressa that he offered to hand them out to the public.
Making salami and capocollo was part of his youth in Calabria.
He brought the skill with him to Australia 50 years ago and it’s an annual family ritual with all hands on deck at his Keilor Park garage.
His son Mario said ‘‘being European it’s very important. Food brought family together.’’
It was a pleasure to bring his father to the Festa. ‘‘He's in his element. Look at the smile on his face. It’s like he’s in Italy.’’
Asked if anyone in the family could ever be a vegan, Vincenzo’s daughter-in-law Kathy said ‘‘forget it’’.
About 4500 people attended the two-day Melbourne Salami Festa, which has been going since 2012.
Christopher Milledge and Gus Imberger from Healesville won the 2018 Judges’ Choice for best salami for a simple garlic and herb creation.
Carolyn Webb is a reporter for The Age.
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