Margaret River Gourmet Escape Announces New Event and Additional Tickets

Food and wine lovers who missed out on the first round tickets for the 2018 Margaret River Gourmet Escape presented by Westpac (Nov 16-18) are in luck. Festival organisers announced a brand new event, as well as additional tickets for several popular events that had previously sold out, due to overwhelming demand.

The announcement was made by the Western Australian Tourism Minister Paul Papalia in Singapore at an exclusive West Australian wine and canapé reception at the National Gallery of Singapore. The Minister was joined by Christopher Gilbert, Senior Vice President & Managing Director of IMG Australia & New Zealand, the company that organises the festival, and a mixture of media, previous visitors and partners of the festival. Guests enjoyed a menu of West Australian inspired delights prepared by Chef Seth James (Wills Domain, Margaret River) and Jake Kellie (Burnt Ends), both of whom are part of the 45 strong culinary line up for this year’s extraordinary festival of food and wine.

A new event, just announced and added to the impressive festival program sees much-loved food identity and festival headliner Nigella Lawson host the new Supper with Nigella at Xanadu Wines on Saturday 17 November from 8:30pm – 11:00pm. The event will feature a decadent menu of Nigella’s famous late night eats, Q&A with Kate Langbroek and surprises around every corner, making for an unforgettable evening. Tickets are on sale now for $250 per person (plus booking fee), which includes a pre-signed copy of Nigella’s cookbook, ‘At My Table’.

Nigella fell in love with both the event and destination in 2016, and recently described Margaret River Gourmet Escape as a very special festival and life-enhancing experience. In addition to the new Supper event, she’ll take part in the iconic Westpac Gourmet Beach BBQ (Friday 16 November, Lunch and Dinner), Nigella’s Tea Party at Howard Park Winery (Sunday 18 November), as well as making appearances and a book signing at the Gourmet Village at Leeuwin Estate (Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 November).

“I love the Margaret River Gourmet Escape crowd- it’s like hanging out with warm, like-minded people who create such a joyous and upbeat atmosphere…plus it’s hard to resist the extraordinary combination of outstanding natural beauty, wonderful food and produce and excellent wine,” Nigella said.

Joining Nigella are 45 of the world’s biggest culinary stars including Rick Stein, Skye Gyngell, James Lowe, Julien Royer and Niki Nakayama, as well as Australia’s best culinary talent such as Guy Grossi, Luke Mangan and Guillaume Brahimi, who’ll head to Western Australia’s south west to collaborate with the amazing local talent and celebrate the world-class produce of the region.

The diverse program of events will see 45 food and wine events take place in more than 25 unique locations. There’s something to suit all tastes, from a pop-up Mexican Cantina, Vegan Italian Feast and Chinese banquet – to an intimate traditional Japanese dining experience, barbecues on white sandy beaches and feasts in the forest.

Additional tickets have been released for two iconic wine events over the weekend – the prestigious Cape Mentelle International Cabernet Tasting and Long Lunch with commentary by Sarah Ahmed happening on Friday 16 November; and the Cullen Chardonnay Tasting & Lunch, with lunch by Tetsuya Wakuda on Saturday 17 November.

Additional tickets are on sale now via www.gourmetescape.com.au