The TONY Trail runs for one weekend only, marking the release of A24's new Anthony Bourdain origin story, TONY.
Queen Victoria Market is honouring Anthony Bourdain with The TONY Trail, a special one-weekend edition of its foodie tour.
Running on 15 and 16 August, The TONY Trail turns the market into a Bourdain-themed food crawl. It’s a one-off weekend spin on the venue’s regular walking tour, built for film buffs and food obsessives keen to roam the halls through the chef’s lens.
A24’s TONY, directed by Matt Johnson, tells the origin story of Anthony Bourdain. It follows him at 19 as he lands in Provincetown and tumbles into the frenzy of a restaurant kitchen, the summer that shaped the chaotic course of everything that came after.
The TONY Trail
- 15 August, 10am – Queen Victoria Market
- 16 August, 10am – Queen Victoria Market
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That’s where a teenage Bourdain found his love of food, learning to fillet fish, shuck oysters and read the personalities and pressures of a working kitchen. The TONY Trail leans on that same appetite for discovery, guiding guests past fresh produce, seafood and independent traders.
The tour also nods to Bourdain’s real 2009 stop here, when he swung through the market for his Melbourne No Reservations episode. Queen Victoria Market has anchored the city’s food scene for almost 150 years, linking shoppers with passionate traders, seasonal produce and the kind of unhurried discovery Bourdain built a career on.
Across the two-hour walk, guests move through the market’s historic halls and eight tastings drawn from local flavours. Think freshly cooked mussels, premium seafood, traditional pickled octopus and artisan charcuterie spread along the route.
There’s also char-grilled Australian kangaroo, locally crafted cheeses, seasonal fruit and the market’s hot jam doughnuts from The American Doughnut Kitchen to finish.
Tickets sit at $119 and cover all eight tastings plus a Queen Victoria Market cotton tote bag. TONY reaches ANZ cinemas on 20 August, so the trail lands as a warm-up for the film.
For more information, head here.