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14 July 2014 by Alex Stewart
Exclusive Wexas packages now available to attend the festival from 21-23 November
Heston Blumenthal leads a stellar list of chefs lined up to appear at this year's Margaret River Gourmet Escape (21-23 November 2014), a three day food and wine festival held among the rolling vineyards and white sand beaches of Western Australia's Margaret River Wine Region.
Blumenthal, who is returning for a second year, commented
'I don't think that there is any other food event on this planet like this!'
More than 30 of the world's best chefs, including Rick Stein and Australian chefs Peter Gilmore and Frank Camorra, will don their whites alongside Heston Blumenthal to celebrate the region's renowned restaurants, cellar doors, 170 artisanal producers and spectacular natural scenery.
The line up for 2014, announced to the media in partnership with Wexas at London's Mandarin Oriental, is the event's most exciting and high-profile to date, making the festival an essential stop on every foodie's calendar. Other names taking place include Massimo Bottura (Osteria Francescana, Modena Italy), Guillaume Brahimi (Guillaume Sydney and Bistro Guillaume Melbourne and Perth), George Calombaris (The Press Club Melbourne), Hadleigh Troy (Restaurant Amusé, Perth) and Matt Stone (Greenhouse, Perth and Silo, Melbourne).
Wexas Travel has exclusive itineraries available now for the festival from just £1,995 per person, which include international flights, car hire, accommodation and tickets to all key events, ensuring a seamless experience and allowing even more time to enjoy the cornucopia that awaits. Guests booking with Wexas will have the first chance to secure tickets before they go on general sale a month later. The 2013 festival was an enormous success meaning that this year's event is sure to sell out swiftly.
Only in Margaret River can visitors move between a beach bbq with rick Stein, a collaboration dinner from Michelin starred greats like Heston Blumenthal, Sat Baines and Clare Smyth and a wine tasting with Australian wine critic James Halliday, before hitting the beach, discovering world-class surf breaks or exploring ancient cave systems.
Western Australia has long been a nirvana for wine lovers. With a similar terroir to Bordeaux, Margaret River produces just 3% of Australia's overall wine production but 25% of its premium export wine. It is also the second largest producer of black truffles in the world and there is an incredible array of seafood from rock oysters and freshwater crayfish (marron) to prawns and enormous barramundi. With flight times from the UK of around 18 hours, this delicious slice of Australia is also four hours closer than Sydney, making it more accessible than you might imagine.