Mary is best known for her expertise as a gardening writer as well as her candid account of her adventures in South West France. But now in The Long Table: My Love Affair with Food, she takes us on a nostalgic journey in which she recounts how her life has been shaped by her passion for good food, cooking and sharing.

Tickets: $15 includes tastes from her book, and a champagne cocktail. Limited places, tickets from the Hawthorn shop.