Opening 16 October, Order Up – a city fed by many cultures transforms the humble kitchen docket into an immersive celebration of Melbourne's food scene.
Order Up – a city fed by many cultures lands at Immigration Museum, a vibrant exhibition celebrating Melbourne’s hospitality through hundreds of kitchen dockets.
Visitors step into the heart of kitchens from France-Soir, Abla’s, Pellegrini’s Espresso Bar, Supper Inn, The Horn, Chae, Taverna, Rumi, Pastusto and more.
Hundreds of scribbled, food-stained slips of paper flutter throughout the exhibition space, representing the legacy of 33 iconic Melbourne restaurants.
Projected film and layered audio fill the space with interview excerpts, clinking cutlery, whooshing flames, laughter and multiple languages; capturing the rich energy of people working around the clock to feed the city.
Order Up – Melbourne immigration museum
- Where: Immigration Museum, 400 Flinders St, Melbourne
- When: 16 October 2025 – 5 April 2026
- Tickets: Adults $15, Seniors $12, Members/Concession/Children free
- Programming: Order Up: Stories from the Kitchen panel discussion, Sunday 19 October, 3:30pm-4:30pm, Immigration Museum Theatrette
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Melbourne-based artists Daniel Saade and Redmond Stevenson created the exhibition as a collaboration drawing on their decades-long friendship and shared passion for hospitality. Saade, a third-generation restaurateur whose Lebanese immigrant grandparents arrived in Melbourne in 1950, has operated cafe Niche on Bridge for 13 years. Stevenson brings years of cinematography experience filming in kitchens and restaurants, capturing the energy and humanity of hospitality culture.
Both artists ground their creative practice in the belief that Melbourne’s hospitality industry plays a vital role in immigrant integration. Their own experiences and Saade’s family journey inform this perspective, framing humble slips of paper into something captivating that reveals the human connections behind each order.
Immigration Museum provides a fitting home for the exhibition, with stories of arrival, identity and belonging embedded in its walls. Museums Victoria CEO and Director Lynley Crosswell described Order Up as a tribute to the people who work around the clock to feed and nourish Melbourne.
Minister for Creative Industries Colin Brooks highlighted Victoria’s rich social tapestry, noting Victorians come from more than 300 ancestries, speak 290 languages and follow almost 200 different faiths.
A panel discussion on 19 October at the immigration museum brings multiple kitchen perspectives together. Exhibition creators Saade and Stevenson will share how and why they cooked up Order Up, while chefs and restaurateurs Helly Raichura from Enter Via Laundry and Hamed Allahyari from Kabibi reflect on culture, cuisine and the communities that gather around the table.
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