Heading the list is domestic goddess and food-porn queen Nigella Lawson, whose bound to set pulses racing. But on the quirkier side, watch out for the boys from Jellymongers, Bombas and Parr, when they bring us their wobbly brand of creative food performance, and considering they created London’s first walk in cocktail (a gin and tonic mist), who knows what could happen.

For the Nordic touch, Thorsten Schmidt will be flying the flag for experimental cuisine, while Elena Arzak will be adding Michelin star power to the ranks of female kitchen guests and shining a light on Basque cuisine.

But it’s not all imported talent. Maggie Beer and Stephanie Alexander will be welcome and familiar faces, along with newer TV food stars Anna Gare and George Calombaris.

It’s a dizzying list of culinary celebrities to get through, so start blocking out the diary. With over 250 events rolling out across Victoria for the 2011 season (from wine dinners to master classes), we can only recommend staying on top of announcements and event bookings as they happen to avoid a last minute panic when the events go live.

For the full line up check out: blog.melbournefoodandwine.com.au

The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival runs from March 4 to 14, 2011.