Edgy Veg Awards come to Mount Alexander Shire
Published on 26 March 2025
The Edgy Veg Awards are back this April for the fourth year in the Macedon Ranges and have now expanded to Mount Alexander Shire.
The event is a competition for the Most Vegelicious Dish – celebrating the amazing skills of our local chefs as we span across two shires.
This event is the longest-running trail in Australia that celebrates delicious food made 100% from vegetables.
With 46 venues on board, there are more vegelicious choices, more seasonal food, more opportunities to support local businesses and growers, with new cafes, restaurants and pubs to discover.
Start planning your delicious Edgy Veg Trail now – visit www.edgyvegawards.com.au and Eat Well! Be Well!
From Maldon to Gisborne, and all the towns in between, we’ve got you covered. From Maldon Bakery’s Curried Lentil and Vegetable Pie, to Holgate's Roasted Stuffed Capsicum in Woodend, to Macedon Ranges Wholefoods Mushroom Jaffle in Gisborne – you can eat your way across the region and score dishes as you go.
Be adventurous – try new places and new dishes. Show your support for your favourite local (and not so local) venues by tasting and scoring dishes – for flavour, innovation and presentation. Each score puts you in the draw to win fabulous prizes plus your score helps determine which dish wins the title of Most Vegelicious Dish.
This project is delivered by Veg Action of the Macedon Ranges Sustainability Group, and generously supported by Healthy Loddon Campaspe, Mount Alexander Shire Council, Bendigo Bank Gisborne & District, Snap Fitness Woodend and Mount Macedon Realty.
For the first time, Edgy Veg will encourage more people to eat more veggies with the vegelicious meal vouchers distributed to families and individuals across Mount Alexander Shire. The vouchers will support local businesses, the local food system, circular economy and the community.
Feel the vegelicous benefits – for your tastebuds, your health, your community and the planet.
Event sponsors are thrilled to support Edgy Veg in 2025.
Mount Alexander Shire Council's Mayor, Cr Rosie Annear, said, "The Edgy Veg Awards are a fantastic way to celebrate our local food scene, while inspiring people to try new things and explore healthier choices. With less than a quarter of our community eating enough vegetables, this event helps make it easy – and delicious – to change that."
"By enjoying fresh, veggie-rich meals, we’re not only supporting our health but also our local cafes, restaurants, and growers. I’m excited to see Mount Alexander Shire come together to discover the most ‘vegelicious’ dishes of 2025!"
Healthy Loddon Campaspe Coordinator Alicia O’Brien, says, "Healthy Loddon Campaspe is proud to be supporting the 2025 Edgy Veg Awards, including its expansion into Mount Alexander Shire. Data from the Active Living Census tells us that only 13% of residents in our region eat enough vegetables. Through supporting the Edgy Veg Awards, we aim to promote the importance of eating fresh, seasonal vegetables, and fostering a vibrant and sustainable regional food system."
Justin O’Donohue from Snap Fitness Woodend says, "The Edgy Veg Awards is a great way to encourage people to get more vegetables into their diet, which fits with Snap Fitness’ goal of promoting overall health and wellness."
Bendigo Community Bank – Gisborne & District are "proud to continue to support the event, with the health and wellbeing benefits for the community and supporting our local providers and food service businesses in the region."
Lisa Fowler from Mt Macedon Realty is also backing the event because, "I wanted to support the Edgy Veg Awards to encourage more people to eat more veg. It’s just so pleasing to go from once getting a bowl of boiled vegetables in a restaurant, to the amazing array of plant-based food out there now: even Kholrabi Ceviche!"
Photo by Tiffany Warner: Sticky Soy Glazed Tofu Bún from Superhero Bahn Mi, Castlemaine