Gourmet Village at Gourmet Escape, Margaret River 2013

"Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "Margaret River" "Margaret River food reviews" "Margaret River reviews" "Margaret River valley" "gluten free" "local produce" "winery region" "Margaret River winery reviews" "Margaret River restaurant reviews" "West Australian wineries" "West Australian Wines" "Degustation" "Vegetarian" “Gourmet Escape” “Gourmet Village” “Leeuwin Estate” “Food festival” “Wine festival” “Margaret River festival” “Heston Blumenthal” “Harold McGee” “Rick Stein” “Adriano Zumbo” “Hadleigh Troy” “Guillaume Brahimi” “Matt Stone” “Tetsuya Wakuda” “Neil Perry” ”celebrity chef”

It was only about six weeks ago that the Boy took me down to Margaret River on a prescribed weekend of rest. We wined, dined and came back as fresh as daisies albeit slightly rounder in shape. It was a comparatively unplanned and impromptu trip which is quite out of character for me and I love that the Boy can have this sort of influence on me. I had barely finished writing up all my blog posts from the trip when it was time to head back for Gourmet Escape.

For my non-Western Australians readers; Gourmet Escape is a three day food and wine festival held in Margaret River in November each year. Famous chefs from around the world join along including Heston Blumenthal, Harold McGee, Rick Stein, Adriano Zumbo, Hadleigh Troy, Guillaume Brahimi, Matt Stone, Tetsuya Wakuda and Neil Perry to name a just few!

"Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "Margaret River" "Margaret River food reviews" "Margaret River reviews" "Margaret River valley" "gluten free" "local produce" "winery region" "Margaret River winery reviews" "Margaret River restaurant reviews" "West Australian wineries" "West Australian Wines" "Degustation" "Vegetarian" “Gourmet Escape” “Gourmet Village” “Leeuwin Estate” “Food festival” “Wine festival” “Margaret River festival” “Heston Blumenthal” “Harold McGee” “Rick Stein” “Adriano Zumbo” “Hadleigh Troy” “Guillaume Brahimi” “Matt Stone” “Tetsuya Wakuda” “Neil Perry” ”celebrity chef”

We had a full weekend planned with different events to attend on each day in addition to a two-day pass to the Gourmet Village. The Gourmet Village is held on the spacious grounds at Leeuwin Estate and the whole day is filled with activities, classes, shows and stalls offering wine and food from all around Western Australia. It was a wonderful way to showcase what a richly diverse State we live in and how lucky we are to have such a strong focus on quality produce.

"Prevali Wines" "Prevali Wines Pinot Rose" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "Margaret River" "Margaret River food reviews" "Margaret River reviews" "Margaret River valley" "gluten free" "local produce" "winery region" "Margaret River winery reviews" "Margaret River restaurant reviews" "West Australian wineries" "West Australian Wines" "Degustation" "Vegetarian" “Gourmet Escape” “Gourmet Village” “Leeuwin Estate” “Food festival” “Wine festival” “Margaret River festival” “Heston Blumenthal” “Harold McGee” “Rick Stein” “Adriano Zumbo” “Hadleigh Troy” “Guillaume Brahimi” “Matt Stone” “Tetsuya Wakuda” “Neil Perry” ”celebrity chef”
Bottoms up! Prevali Wines Pinot Rose 2013

Basic general admission tickets to the Village cost $38 per adult. We opted for premium tickets for $64 which also included 4 “GEMs”. GEMs are your village currency each costing $7 and most items to eat or drink cost one GEM. Despite buying some extra GEMS in advance we managed to guzzle our way through nearly 20 GEMS on the first day and had to buy more from one of the GEMs sellers that can be found walking through the crowd. There were also outlets in the Village selling GEMS but the queues for these were reasonably long.

"Classroom" "espresso martini" "Classroom Cocktail Club" “liquid nitrogen” “N2 espreso martini” “cocktails” “cocktail club” “North Perth” "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "Margaret River" "Margaret River food reviews" "Margaret River reviews" "Margaret River valley" "gluten free" "local produce" "winery region" "Margaret River winery reviews" "Margaret River restaurant reviews" "West Australian wineries" "West Australian Wines" "Degustation" "Vegetarian" “Gourmet Escape” “Gourmet Village” “Leeuwin Estate” “Food festival” “Wine festival” “Margaret River festival” “Heston Blumenthal” “Harold McGee” “Rick Stein” “Adriano Zumbo” “Hadleigh Troy” “Guillaume Brahimi” “Matt Stone” “Tetsuya Wakuda” “Neil Perry” ”celebrity chef”
The Classroom Cocktail Club
"Classroom" "espresso martini" "Classroom Cocktail Club" “liquid nitrogen” “N2 espreso martini” “cocktails” “cocktail club” “North Perth” "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "Margaret River" "Margaret River food reviews" "Margaret River reviews" "Margaret River valley" "gluten free" "local produce" "winery region" "Margaret River winery reviews" "Margaret River restaurant reviews" "West Australian wineries" "West Australian Wines" "Degustation" "Vegetarian" “Gourmet Escape” “Gourmet Village” “Leeuwin Estate” “Food festival” “Wine festival” “Margaret River festival” “Heston Blumenthal” “Harold McGee” “Rick Stein” “Adriano Zumbo” “Hadleigh Troy” “Guillaume Brahimi” “Matt Stone” “Tetsuya Wakuda” “Neil Perry” ”celebrity chef”
Two N2 Espresso Martinis coming up!

The Classroom bar in North Perth set up their own Classroom Cocktail Club were you could buy their famous N2 espresso martinis for one GEM. For my review on this signature drink read my review here. The Boy missed out coming along to my cocktail Master class because he isn’t a blogger so we made a bee line as soon as we arrived to get him one to try!

"Classroom" "espresso martini" "Classroom Cocktail Club" “liquid nitrogen” “N2 espreso martini” “cocktails” “cocktail club” “North Perth” "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "Margaret River" "Margaret River food reviews" "Margaret River reviews" "Margaret River valley" "gluten free" "local produce" "winery region" "Margaret River winery reviews" "Margaret River restaurant reviews" "West Australian wineries" "West Australian Wines" "Degustation" "Vegetarian" “Gourmet Escape” “Gourmet Village” “Leeuwin Estate” “Food festival” “Wine festival” “Margaret River festival” “Heston Blumenthal” “Harold McGee” “Rick Stein” “Adriano Zumbo” “Hadleigh Troy” “Guillaume Brahimi” “Matt Stone” “Tetsuya Wakuda” “Neil Perry” ”celebrity chef”
Even in a plastic cup it looks amazing!
"The Studio Bistro"’ "Butterfield beef fillet" "Café de Paris" "Royal Blue chips" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "Margaret River" "Margaret River food reviews" "Margaret River reviews" "Margaret River valley" "gluten free" "local produce" "winery region" "Margaret River winery reviews" "Margaret River restaurant reviews" "West Australian wineries" "West Australian Wines" "Degustation" "Vegetarian" “Gourmet Escape” “Gourmet Village” “Leeuwin Estate” “Food festival” “Wine festival” “Margaret River festival” “Heston Blumenthal” “Harold McGee” “Rick Stein” “Adriano Zumbo” “Hadleigh Troy” “Guillaume Brahimi” “Matt Stone” “Tetsuya Wakuda” “Neil Perry” ”celebrity chef”
The Studio Bistro’s Butterfield beef fillet, Café de Paris and Royal Blue chips (GF)

One of my favourite dishes for the day was The Studio Bistro’s Butterfield beef fillet, cooked rare with a sumptuous dark sear on the surface, served with a melting dollop of decadent Café de Paris and some hand cut Royal Blue chips. I actually went back for seconds on day two! It definitely has inspired me to pay them a visit next time I’m in Yallingup. My other most enjoyable dish was the freshly shucked Pacific oysters at 34 Degrees Blue’s stall. These guys got slurped up in a flash before I even thought of snapping a picture. Oysters are best shucked right before serving as they taste completely different when served freshly shucked. I am glad we have our own oyster shucker extraordinaire in our family; namely my Dad!

"Jean Pierre Sancho" "macarons" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "Margaret River" "Margaret River food reviews" "Margaret River reviews" "Margaret River valley" "gluten free" "local produce" "winery region" "Margaret River winery reviews" "Margaret River restaurant reviews" "West Australian wineries" "West Australian Wines" "Degustation" "Vegetarian" “Gourmet Escape” “Gourmet Village” “Leeuwin Estate” “Food festival” “Wine festival” “Margaret River festival” “Heston Blumenthal” “Harold McGee” “Rick Stein” “Adriano Zumbo” “Hadleigh Troy” “Guillaume Brahimi” “Matt Stone” “Tetsuya Wakuda” “Neil Perry” ”celebrity chef”
Jean Pierre Sancho macarons
"Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "Margaret River" "Margaret River food reviews" "Margaret River reviews" "Margaret River valley" "gluten free" "local produce" "winery region" "Margaret River winery reviews" "Margaret River restaurant reviews" "West Australian wineries" "West Australian Wines" "Degustation" "Vegetarian" “Gourmet Escape” “Gourmet Village” “Leeuwin Estate” “Food festival” “Wine festival” “Margaret River festival” “Heston Blumenthal” “Harold McGee” “Rick Stein” “Adriano Zumbo” “Hadleigh Troy” “Guillaume Brahimi” “Matt Stone” “Tetsuya Wakuda” “Neil Perry” ”celebrity chef”
Poh Ling Yeow and Matt Stone fried up some insects

Some of the presentations were of particular interest, the Boy and I loved Matt Stone’s demonstration on cooking with insects. The Boy is a great lover of eating these crunchy critters and he reminded me of the damage to the environment that farming my luscious, just devoured beef would have caused. I guarantee he would have been happier if there was a stall that he could have bought me a bag of crickets from!

“Southern Forest Food” “David Coomer” “Ian Leaning” “marron” “cauliflower” “sweet corn risotto” “truffle oil” "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "Margaret River" "Margaret River food reviews" "Margaret River reviews" "Margaret River valley" "gluten free" "local produce" "winery region" "Margaret River winery reviews" "Margaret River restaurant reviews" "West Australian wineries" "West Australian Wines" "Degustation" "Vegetarian" “Gourmet Escape” “Gourmet Village” “Leeuwin Estate” “Food festival” “Wine festival” “Margaret River festival” “Heston Blumenthal” “Harold McGee” “Rick Stein” “Adriano Zumbo” “Hadleigh Troy” “Guillaume Brahimi” “Matt Stone” “Tetsuya Wakuda” “Neil Perry” ”celebrity chef”
Southern Forest Food tent
“Southern Forest Food” “David Coomer” “Ian Leaning” “marron” “cauliflower” “sweet corn risotto” “truffle oil” "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "Margaret River" "Margaret River food reviews" "Margaret River reviews" "Margaret River valley" "gluten free" "local produce" "winery region" "Margaret River winery reviews" "Margaret River restaurant reviews" "West Australian wineries" "West Australian Wines" "Degustation" "Vegetarian" “Gourmet Escape” “Gourmet Village” “Leeuwin Estate” “Food festival” “Wine festival” “Margaret River festival” “Heston Blumenthal” “Harold McGee” “Rick Stein” “Adriano Zumbo” “Hadleigh Troy” “Guillaume Brahimi” “Matt Stone” “Tetsuya Wakuda” “Neil Perry” ”celebrity chef”
David Coomer & Ian Leaning’s marron, cauliflower and sweet corn risotto with truffle oil

The Southern Forest region is one that is lesser known to interstate and overseas tourists however it is also an area rich in world class produce, luscious forests and fine wines. This is the region in Western Australia where black truffles are grown commercially. The Southern Forests Food Council are committed to spreading awareness of the value of this region as a foodie’s mecca and were selling a variety of fresh and prepared produce including free samples of trufflicious risotto.

"Apple Daily Bar" "Eating House" "Som tum gai yang" "Green papaya salad" "charcoal grilled chicken" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "Margaret River" "Margaret River food reviews" "Margaret River reviews" "Margaret River valley" "gluten free" "local produce" "winery region" "Margaret River winery reviews" "Margaret River restaurant reviews" "West Australian wineries" "West Australian Wines" "Degustation" "Vegetarian" “Gourmet Escape” “Gourmet Village” “Leeuwin Estate” “Food festival” “Wine festival” “Margaret River festival” “Heston Blumenthal” “Harold McGee” “Rick Stein” “Adriano Zumbo” “Hadleigh Troy” “Guillaume Brahimi” “Matt Stone” “Tetsuya Wakuda” “Neil Perry” ”celebrity chef”
The Apple Daily Bar & Eating House’s Som tum gai yang (Green papaya salad with charcoal grilled chicken GF)
"Catch of the day" "smoked Huon salmon" "vine tomato jelly" "fennel" "apple salad" "spring pea tendrils" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "Margaret River" "Margaret River food reviews" "Margaret River reviews" "Margaret River valley" "gluten free" "local produce" "winery region" "Margaret River winery reviews" "Margaret River restaurant reviews" "West Australian wineries" "West Australian Wines" "Degustation" "Vegetarian" “Gourmet Escape” “Gourmet Village” “Leeuwin Estate” “Food festival” “Wine festival” “Margaret River festival” “Heston Blumenthal” “Harold McGee” “Rick Stein” “Adriano Zumbo” “Hadleigh Troy” “Guillaume Brahimi” “Matt Stone” “Tetsuya Wakuda” “Neil Perry” ”celebrity chef”
Catch of the day: smoked Huon salmon, vine tomato jelly, fennel and apple salad, spring pea tendrils (GF)

There were a number of gluten free options spotted around the Village and every time I saw something that I could eat I felt compelled to buy some. A little hedonistic I know and suffice to say I suffered for my overindulgence for several days afterwards!

"Ole Paella" "Paella" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "Margaret River" "Margaret River food reviews" "Margaret River reviews" "Margaret River valley" "gluten free" "local produce" "winery region" "Margaret River winery reviews" "Margaret River restaurant reviews" "West Australian wineries" "West Australian Wines" "Degustation" "Vegetarian" “Gourmet Escape” “Gourmet Village” “Leeuwin Estate” “Food festival” “Wine festival” “Margaret River festival” “Heston Blumenthal” “Harold McGee” “Rick Stein” “Adriano Zumbo” “Hadleigh Troy” “Guillaume Brahimi” “Matt Stone” “Tetsuya Wakuda” “Neil Perry” ”celebrity chef”
Ole Paella
"Cullen Wines" "Grilled Augusta whiting" "kimchi" "vermicelli noodle salad" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Perth restaurants" "Perth food reviews" "Margaret River" "Margaret River food reviews" "Margaret River reviews" "Margaret River valley" "gluten free" "local produce" "winery region" "Margaret River winery reviews" "Margaret River restaurant reviews" "West Australian wineries" "West Australian Wines" "Degustation" "Vegetarian" “Gourmet Escape” “Gourmet Village” “Leeuwin Estate” “Food festival” “Wine festival” “Margaret River festival” “Heston Blumenthal” “Harold McGee” “Rick Stein” “Adriano Zumbo” “Hadleigh Troy” “Guillaume Brahimi” “Matt Stone” “Tetsuya Wakuda” “Neil Perry” ”celebrity chef”
Cullen Wines Grilled Augusta whiting with kimchi and vermicelli noodle salad (GF)

As our second day in the Village drew to a close we had to decide how to spend our last three GEMs. We agreed on a cup of Matso’s Mango beer for the Boy, a glass of Snake + Herring ‘Corduroy’ Single Vineyard Karridale Chardonnay for me and a bowl to share of kimchi and vermicelli noodle salad topped with a couple of grilled Augusta whiting fillets courtesy of Cullen Wines. Cullen Winery are very focussed on sustainability and their impact on the environment, operating a biodynamic winery that is carbon neutral. Their restaurant specialises in using organic and local produce and is a must to visit if you are in the region. They have loads of vego and gluten free options. See my review for Cullen Wines here.

Gourmet Escape was a fabulous foodie weekend away and we hope to be able to attend for many years to come. We enjoyed a wonderful mix of satellite events along with visiting the Village although next year I think one day at the Village will suffice. This will leave more room in my stomach for attending one of the beach BBQs which I believe were incredible.

 

The Studio Bistro, Yallingup WA

The Studio Bistro & Gallery on Urbanspoon

Prevali Wines, 99 Mitchell Drive, Prevelly, WA 6285

Leeuwin Estate, Stevens Road, Margaret River, WA 6285

Leeuwin Estate Restaurant on Urbanspoon

The Apple Daily Bar & Eating House, 125 St Georges Terrace, Perth WA 6000

Apple Daily Bar & Eating House on Urbanspoon

Ole Paella Catering

Ole Paella Catering on Urbanspoon

Cullen Wines, Lot 4323 Caves Road, Margaret River, WA 6284

Cullen Winery Restaurant on Urbanspoon

8 thoughts on “Gourmet Village at Gourmet Escape, Margaret River 2013”

  1. I visited The Gourmet Escape on the Sunday and loved it! a bit of rain but great value with full glasses for $7 and lovely plates of food. Can’t wait for next year and yes as you said the Beach BBQ’s would be fantastic!!

    1. It is such an awesome festival with such a huge range of events to suit all budgets.

    1. Thanks Tracey. We really re spoilt with so many fantastic food event in WA and GE is one of the best!

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