The Edgy Veg Awards 2026

Vegetables are having their main-character moment.

The Edgy Veg Awards return in April 2026 for a month-long, flavour-packed celebration of plant-based food across the Macedon Ranges (fifth delicious year) and during the 2026 Macedon Ranges Autumn Festival.

It’s a full-scale culinary showdown — and your tastebuds are the judges!

Throughout April, the Edgy Veg Awards features 31 local cafés, restaurants, pubs and bars will go head-to-head, each creating a signature plant-based dish heroing seasonal vegetables. Think smoky, saucy comfort food, clever twists on classics, and surprisingly indulgent plates that regularly impress even the most devoted carnivores. (Yes, really.)

Here’s the twist: you decide the winner.

Follow the Edgy Veg Trail and dine in at participating venues. Rate each dish you try – every vote helps crown the coveted title of Most Vegelicious Dish, and every rating gives you a chance to win prizes along the way. Democracy has never tasted so good.

Unlike traditional food festivals, the Edgy Veg Awards invite you to slow down, explore towns, book tables, and support local hospitality businesses and veggie growers at a time when it really matters. Skip the paper plates — this is about real meals, real venues and real reasons to travel.

Now in its fifth year, the Edgy Veg Awards are proudly the longest-running trail in Australia celebrating dishes made from 100% vegetables. It’s proof that plant-based food isn’t about missing out — it’s about flavour, creativity and a bit of fun.

So this April, skip the cooking. Eat out, eat well, and eat your way through one of regional Victoria’s most joyful food trails. Your favourite café might win. Your tastebuds will definitely win. And vegetables? They’ll never be boring again.

Warning: side effects may include full bellies, changed attitudes and a sudden urge to order vegetables everywhere you go.