Margaret River Gourmet Escape presented by Audi, which has just won the Best Tourism Event award at the Australian Event Awards, has expanded its 2016 program with the release of more tickets to popular events, as well as announced a selection of new attractions across the festival's buzzing world of culinary delight that is the Gourmet Village. 

IMG Culinary Managing Director, Hannah Pike said of the award win, “We are extremely excited to have won Best Tourism Event 2016 after having been nominated for the past four years. This is a fantastic achievement for the event, especially against strong contenders such as Byron Bay Bluesfest. We are looking forward to having another great year in Margaret River this November and thank all our partners for their continued support of the event.”

In other great festival news, a limited number of tickets to events including the Crenn Collaboration at Wills Domain, Fraser Gallop Sundown Soiree with Nigella Lawson and Voyager to Dinner presented by Singapore Airlines will be available through Ticketek on Wednesday 28th September from 2pm AWST.

A must-attend for all festival goers and located in the stunning surrounds of the renowned Leeuwin Estate Winery, this year's Gourmet Village will be bigger and better than ever with an array of new events added to the line-up. For Nigella fans, an extra session has been released for Nigella Lawson's book signing in the Gourmet Village which offers guests the chance to get up close to the queen of home cooking and this year's festival headliner, plus tickets for the Table of Eight on-stage experience will be available enabling festival-goers to be just metres away from their culinary heroes.

Also new for 2016, the Wüsthof Knife Skillery will see Guy Grossi and Chef de Home's Ben Knights showcase their finest knife skills in a hands on workshop; Rebecca Sullivan's Sweets & Treats Masterclasses will highlight the best local produce available from the South West region to create delicious sweet treats; and Battle of the Breweries with Mane Liquor will present a series 'hop offs' where the tasters will not only decide who will win each round, but most importantly, who will be crowned Gourmet Escape's 'Best in Brew 2016'. For the wine lovers, Leeuwin Estate will be holding a tutored tasting of five Art Series wines matched perfectly to foods from their seasonal menu, providing guests with an intimate and informal food and wine matching through the Leeuwin Estate Wine and Food Tasting Experience. There will also be a series of free Kitchen Talks from the Source sessions where attendees will get the chance to 'meet the makers' who create the region's very best local produce and wine, the specially curated selection of home–grown heroes will tell their stories and introduce their incredible products that will be showcased in the Gourmet Village.

 A festival favourite, Around the Barrel wine tastings will be back bigger and better than ever with added food pairings from the restaurants and producers within the village. Gourmet Escape wine experts, Joe Czerwinski, Debra Meiburg, Tyson Stelzer and James Halliday will help guide the tasting which will be hosted by internationally acclaimed wine critic Nick Stock. Nick will also be leading the Margaret River Icon Tastings, held in the exclusive Leeuwin Estate Art Gallery, and will be joined by national and international wine experts from Around the Barrel events.

One of Gourmet Escape's signature events, the Audi Gourmet Beach BBQ will welcome young gun, Jesse Blake, head chef from Petition Kitchen in the State Buildings, Perth to play host this year. Jesse will be accompanied by a selection of renowned chefs including Frank Camorra (MoVida Melbourne), Rick Stein and Mike McEnearney (No.1 Bent St, Sydney) and Audi ambassador, Guillaume Brahimi (Bistro Guillaume). Perth fashion and lifestyle influencer, Rayne Embley will look after guests, who will be treated to specially designed cocktails made with artisan Gourmet Escape gin crafted exclusively for the festival by Ashley Palmer-Watts (Dinner by Heston, No. 49 in World's 50 Best Restaurants) in collaboration with London-based bartender, mixologist and author, Tony Conigliaro and award-winning Margaret River and Albany distillery, Limeburners - named distiller of the year at the 2016 Australian Distilled Spirits Awards; plus there will be additional quality beverages supplied by Little Creatures, Devil's Lair and a selection of local wineries and live music to chill out to under the tipis at Castle Bay Beach.

Also not to be missed, Grossi and Bridger's Wild Table presented by Colonial Brewery will offer the ultimate farm to table inspired feast focusing on a no waste ethos. Curated by well-known Perth-based chef, Scott Bridger (Bib & Tucker and May Street Larder Perth), and East Coast father and son duo, Guy and Carlo Grossi (Melbourne's Ombra Salumi, Florentino and Merchant OV), each course will be perfectly paired with one of Colonial's handcrafted beers. The event will be set in a relaxed and stylishly rustic setting with long tables, hay-bales and a live folk band for beer and beef lovers who want to kick up their heels and enjoy the day.

Event Details

Dates: 18 – 20 November 2016

Tickets available through Ticketek – www.ticketek.com.au/gourmetescape