Flavours of Greece, an event of the Greek Community of Melbourne, celebrates Greek cuisine and the flavours that make it so unique and admired across the globe.

This year Flavours of Greece takes up residence at the Greek Centre for Contemporary Culture, with a curated program to include Kids Cooking Classes presented by The Travelling Kitchen, an intimate dinner hosted by Philip Vakos from Bahari I The Hellenic Palate, cooking demonstrations by some of Melbourne’s most loved chefs and cooks and a screening of Tassos Boulmetis’ A Touch of Spice.

Created by Karen Koutsodontis, The Travelling Kitchen offers a hands-on incursion program, run at crèches, kindergartens and primary schools all over Melbourne. This wonderful program is heading to the Greek Centre, offering children of Primary School age the opportunity to take part in a hands-on workshop offering lessons in recipe recognition, practical cooking skills, sensory testing and nutrition education. The lesson will delivered in Greek and English, and students will be making a Greek dish.

On Friday 25 September, Philip Vakos (MasterChef Season 2) will bring his Richmond restaurant Bahari I The Hellenic Palate to the Greek Centre for a unique Flavours of Greece event. Phillip’s passion for traditional Greek food is evident in every dish he prepares, but also loves reinterpreting recipes to create new and unexpected flavours. During the course of evening, Philip will prepare (and demonstrate for guests) a mouth-watering menu using seasonal produce, matched with Greek wines. This intimate dining experience will appeal to all foodies, and with a limited capacity it’s guaranteed to book out quickly.

For those wanting to learn a few trade secrets, some of Melbourne’s favourite Greek chefs and cooks will demonstrate their favourite recipes, such as a Ricotta Bougatsa Dessert (Travis McAuley, Hellenic Republic), Traditional Cheese Pie with handmade Filo Pastry (Mary Valle, author of My Greek Kitchen and My Mediterranean Kitchen), and Greek Taverna Classics (Angela Nicolettou, Angela’s Kitchen Cooking School).

To wrap up the weekend, the Greek Community will host a screening of Tassos Boulmetis’ much loved film A Touch of Spice (Politiki Kouzina), which will be held in the Delphi Bank Mezzanine at the Greek Centre.