After 30 days and 240 events including a new sugar festival, The Age Good Food Month presented by Citi has wrapped for 2015, ending an outstanding year of Good Food Month events across the nation.

The Age Good Food Month's finale weekend was the best yet with 96,000 people enjoying the last weekend of the eclectic Night Noodle Markets offering at Birrarung Marr, and a crowd of nearly 2,000 relishing in Melbourne's inaugural Sweetfest event which brought together the best of the dessert world.

Over its 18 nights, the renowned Night Noodle Markets attracted over 400,000 people, who enjoyed the best of hawker-style dining from a record 57 stalls. Melbourne's all-encompassing love for Asian food was proven with approximately 38,000 Hoy Pinoy skewers sold, over 20,000 Mr Miyagi tacos consumed, 10,000 Gelato Messina peanut milk chocolate dipped gelato baos and 5,000 servings of pork belly were devoured.

As the official charity partner of Melbourne Good Food Month, Fareshare had a strong presence at the Night Noodle Markets with their Fortune Cart, collecting donations from market-goers in exchange for a fortune cookie. From the generosity of patrons throughout the month, Fareshare raised over $80,000, which will create approximately 100,000 meals for the hungry, homeless and those doing it tough in Victoria.

Local Good Food Month talent was joined by a suite of international and interstate names, including US ramen-master Ivan Orkin, Lucky Peach Editor-in-Chief Chris Ying, Pulitzer Prize winning critic Jonathan Gold, David Moyle (Hobart's Franklin), New York's famed duo Big Gay Ice Cream, Instagram dessert queen Katherine Sabbath and one of Peru's top chefs, Diego Muñoz of La Barra and Astrid Y Gaston fame.

The 2015 program was the inaugural year for Creative Director Gemima Cody:  “Victoria's chefs, bakers, chocolatiers, bun-slingers, noodle-makers, bartenders and eaters came out of the gate swinging. I'm so grateful to everyone who made our new events happen. My job was easy, everyone else did the hard work turning those weird ideas into exciting events.”

Highlights included:

● The inaugural two-day Melbourne Sweetfest hosted the best marketplace of sweet treats the state has ever seen. Attendees also caught masterclasses from Instagram queen Katherine Sabbath, New York's  Big Gay Ice Cream duo and Chris Thé from Sydney's Black Star Pastry

● The first ever Ramen Rave starring Ivan Orkin at Supernormal sold out in record time and saw Melbourne's hottest talent serving up their own take on Orkin's legendary ramen

● The inspiring Step Up To The Plate event and movie screening was a standout with some of Melbourne's best chefs paying homage to their mentors and creating movie snacks for the gourmet diner

● The Future of Food gathered together some of the food industry's best minds including Chris Ying (Lucky Peach), LA Times critic Jonathan Gold and Attica Head Chef Ben Shewry to talk about the future of food in a hyper connected world

In the wake of the successful Good Food Month events, including the inaugural Canberra Night Noodle Market in March and Adelaide in September, Good Food Month in Perth in March, Brisbane in July, Sydney Good Food Month in October and now Melbourne, the festival will next be putting on a show in Canberra in March 2016 and Perth following hot on its heels in April.

For all the information on Good Food Month and to sign up to Foodie News, visit goodfoodmonth.com.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @goodfoodmonth and join the conversation using #goodfoodmonth and #jointhefeast.

-ENDS-

For more information, interviews and image requests please contact:

Jaimee Lupton / jaimeelupton@liquidideas.com.au / +61 412 746 498 / +61 2 9667 4211

Juliana Sedgers / julianasedgers@liquidideas.com.au / +61 424 655 340 / +61 2 9667 4211

Good Food Month presented by Citi is the world's largest food festival, taking place across Adelaide in September, Sydney in October, Melbourne in November, Canberra and Perth in March and Brisbane in July.

These events form part of the national Good Food Month platform and are aligned to the Fairfax Good Food network, which includes Good Food in The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age Good Food Guide, The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide, the Brisbane Times Good Food Guide and the essential guide to eating in, dining out and everything in-between,www.goodfood.com.au.