For 11 days in March the 2011 Melbourne Food and Wine festival will give Melbourne’s food lovers the opportunity to enjoy food and wine from every corner of the world and encounter a variety of new and interesting experiences.

The full program for the 2011 Festival, which was publically released last Friday in The Age, has a strong Greek flavour.

George Calombaris will be presenting a cooking Masterclass with his mother at the Langham Hotel on Sunday, March 13 and a cooking class for kids on March 12.

Vas Dounoudis from Church Street Enoteca will ‘take off his hat’ and take diners through an exploration of his take on contemporay Greek cuisines accompanied by Italian varietal wines, which have their origins in Greece on March 7.

Philhellene will be presenting Cypriot Souvla Feast, which along with the lamb on a spit, will authentic Cypriot dishes such as cracked green olives, lountza, kolokasi, mahalebi and a traditional walnut spoon sweet, to finish.

The Greek Deli is hosting an event, ‘Tools of the Table’, which will see Jim and Nick Pothitos team up with award-winning poet, novelist and playwright Tom Petsinis, to examine what we learn from our fathers and the tools that build a life. This dinner on March 7 and 10 will match with wines, poetry and lively storytelling.

Kouzina at Doncaster will present Mezes Marathon on March 4 which will match Theo Kostoglou’s innovative mezedes with Greek beverages.

From March 4 to 14 more than 250 events will take place in Melbourne and across regional Victoria.

More information: www.melbournefoodandwine.com.au/