Our History

A depth of international culinary talent, sensational produce, food and wine, stunning venues, new event concepts, and a greater variety of price points made the 2018 Margaret River Gourmet Escape presented by Westpac a standout.

The Festival brought together 60 culinary superstars from Western Australia and around the world including crowd favourites Nigella Lawson, Rick and Jack Stein, Julien Royer, Niki Nakayama and Skye Gyngell, who were joined by more than 20,000 attendees for the seventh and most successful instalment of the extraordinary festival of food and wine since it began in 2012.

It was arguably the most diverse Gourmet Escape program to date, with an epic three days of 50 food and wine events hosted in 25 unique locations. There were events for vegans, meat lovers, sweet tooths, wine and beer lovers, fans of Chinese and Mexican flavours, seafood and more. These were coupled with signature Gourmet Escape events such as the Westpac Gourmet Beach BBQ, Feast in the Forest and the festival’s epicenter, the Gourmet Village at Leeuwin Estate Winery, which received its highest attendance to date.

Margaret River Gourmet Escape marked its sixth year over the 16 – 19 November 2017 and cemented its reputation as one of the most successful world-class food and wine events to date. Australian culinary royalty Curtis Stone was joined by more than 50 of the world’s leading food and wine personalities for the four-day festival, which this year celebrated the famed wine region’s 50^th anniversary with a record number of events.

In 2017 Gourmet Escape received some astonishing accolades from the Australian Event Awards and Australian Tourism awards emphasising the impact it has on the culinary and wine community. Passionate festival goers were able to enjoy the spectacular, premium food and wine offerings of Western Australia further elevated by exclusive culinary talents of the World’s Best Chefs including Rick Stein, Curtis Stone, Alex Atala and Ana Ros. 

Margaret River Gourmet Escape is an extraordinary festival of food and wine which continues to surprise the public each and every year, attracting some of the world’s best chefs, sommeliers and critics. It’s our ability to consistently produce a bigger and better festival every year that has led us to being acknowledged by some of the best. 

In 2016 Gourmet Escape once again received critical acclaim from international culinary and wine master circles and was awarded the Best Tourism Event and the Best Regional Event at the Australian Event Awards.  Passionate festival goers experienced the extraordinary Western Australian offerings of premium food and wine elevated by the unique culinary talents of the World’s Best Chefs including Rick Stein, Nigella Lawson, Dominique Crenn and Ana Ros. 

From dinners in caves, to collaborations in wineries and seafood out at sea, the 2015 event didn’t disappoint in showing off how beautiful West Australia is. Since it’s inception in 2012 the Gourmet Escape vision has been to create a premier food and wine festival to amplify Western Australia as a world class gourmet food and wine destination of choice. 

The extraordinary Margaret River region has gained a fan club of culinary influencers including Marco Pierre White, Guillaume Brahimi and George Calombaris who’ve fallen in love with the region’s unique offering. Each year Gourmet Escape visitors experience the best beaches in the world, coastal ‘cape to cape’ walking tracks, ancient caves, tall tree forests, cultural experiences, world-renowned surfing breaks and spectacular wine and dining experiences.

Margaret River Gourmet Escape aims to deliver a program unlike any other which incorporates a lauded international and local line up of 49 food and wine talent including the likes of Heston Blumenthal, Massimo Bottura, Rick Stein and Peter Gilmore. The festival also attracts significant national and international media exposure with journalists from the UK, Germany, Singapore, New Zealand, China, USA and Indonesia attending the 2014 event. The 2014 festival truly upped the ante, delivering a truly unique and exceptional program of events to ensure the region and all it has to offer to international, interstate and local audiences are represented with a massive weekend for lovers of food, wine, music and fun. New additions to the program included Matt Preston and A.A. Gill playing quizmaster at the Gourmet Food Trivia Night; sundown wine tastings and DJs on the beachfront at Sunset Beats and Bites, the high end International Cabernet Celebration at Cape Mentelle, and a ‘Michelin Greats’ dinner to name a few.

Recently winning “Best New Event” at the 2013 Australian Event Awards, Margaret River Gourmet Escape delivered a program unlike any other which incorporates a lauded international and local line up of food and wine talent, including the likes of Heston Blumenthal, Rick Stein, Alex Atala, Tetsuya Wakuda and Matt Stone.

The 2013 iteration saw an attendance of 15,475* across the three-day culinary festival and experienced unique events set in the most picturesque of locations showcasing the region as a world-class food and wine destination including gourmet beach BBQ’s, foraging events, collaboration dinners, pop up restaurants and panel discussions.

Margaret River Gourmet Escape launched with sell-out crowds at varying events across the four-day culinary extravaganza including Gourmet Beach BBQ’s, special dinners, long lunches and the heart of the festival, the Gourmet Village. It has set the stage for an annual festival showcasing Western Australia as a true food and wine destination.

Delivering a food and wine program and a lauded international line up never seen before in Western Australia, feedback from talent, sponsors, organisers and visitors was overwhelmingly positive, far exceeding expectations. Discovering the region, all the visiting chefs and wine critics created their own gourmet escape, enjoying the pristine beaches, whale watching, helicopter flights and foraging in the local forests.  Undoubtedly showcasing the best of WA and the Margaret River region, the event not only brought visitors to the region but it enabled world-class culinary experts to experience its uniqueness and communicate its merits on an international platform.