The 'godfather of modern cooking' Marco Pierre White, will be taking the helm alongside Rick Stein and Sat Bains at this year's Margaret River Gourmet Escape presented by Audi (20 - 22 November 2015); a three day food and wine festival held amongst the rolling vineyards and white sand beaches of Western Australia's Margaret River Wine Region. Set to be bigger than ever before, the widely acclaimed food festival will bring together a full program of events hosted by over 40 of the world's leading chefs, wine personalities and celebrities celebrating the region's renowned restaurants, cellar doors, artisanal producers and spectacular natural scenery.

Only in Margaret River can visitors move between gourmet beach BBQs, collaboration dinners from Michelin starred greats and wine tasting with Australian wine critics before hitting the beach, discovering a world-class surf break or exploring ancient caves. With a similar terroir to Bordeaux, the region is home to over 200 vineyards producing award-winning chardonnays, cabernet sauvignons and semillon sauvignon blancs. Artisanal cheese and chocolate producers, microbreweries, and distilleries are also now abundant, as is nature's larder of fresh seafood and truffles – Western Australia is now the largest producer of truffles outside Europe.

Tickets will be on sale from 20th July 2015 at www.ticketek.com.au. For those looking for an exclusive behind the scenes package, three of Margaret River's premium wineries (Vasse Felix, Leeuwin Estate and Voyager Estate) have teamed up to offer a brand new Ultimate Gourmet Escape package for 2015. As well as VIP tickets to Margaret River Gourmet Escape, the three-day wine trail goes beyond the wineries cellar doors, allowing exclusive experiences with winemakers and internationally-renowned chefs. Packages cost from £621 ($1,290) per person.

2015's headline chef Marco Pierre White has built an empire of restaurants and was the youngest chef to win three Michelin stars, this year he celebrates the 25th anniversary of his cookbook, White Heat, “the coolest cookbook ever written”. Known for his fiery nature, the famed British chef who mentored the likes of Gordon Ramsay will engage with Margaret River Gourmet Escape's audience and showcase quintessential produce and wine from the region. One of the most anticipated events across the three-day festival will see Marco host a Q&A over dinner at the exquisite Vasse Felix winery with his alumni Jock Zonfrillo, Richard Turner and Patrick Spencer.  These great chefs will re- create signature dishes that the then young chefs had to produce under Michelin starred pressure from the kitchen's of Marco Pierre White's eponymous restaurants.

Marco commented, “The Australian food scene fascinates me so I am especially excited to return and be part of this extraordinary festival and explore the diversity of incredible produce and wine from this beautiful region, Margaret River.  Joining me is an impressive line up of international talent who feel the same way from Mexico to Russia, Chile and Thailand.

Other chefs joining what is set to be the most exciting line-up yet include Ashley Palmer-Watts (Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, London), Gaggan Anand (Gaggan, Bangkok), David Thompson (Nahm, Bangkok), Enrique Olvera (Pujol, Mexico City), Rodolfo Guzman (Boragó, Santiago) and Vladimir Mukhin (White Rabbit, Moscow).                            

German luxury carmaker, Audi, has joined the event as Presenting Partner. The brand, well known for its exceptional lifestyle events, is thrilled to be collaborating with Margaret River Gourmet Escape.

For further information on Margaret River Gourmet Escape, visit www.gourmetescape.com.au. For further information on Western Australia, visit www.westernaustralia.com

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Notes to editors

For further information on the new Ultimate Gourmet Experience, visit www.ultimatewineryexperiences.com.au

Event Details

Dates: 20 – 22 November 2015

To see the full program of events, visit www.gourmetescape.com.au

Tickets available through Ticketek from 20th July (AWST) – www.ticketek.com.au

About Margaret River

Margaret River is ranked among the world's most famous wine regions, home to 217 vineyards and 187 wineries. It is the only wine region in Australia that can lure locals and tourists with arguably the best beaches in the world, costal 'cape to cape' walking tracks, world-renowned surfing breaks and spectacular wine and dining experiences. Only a leisurely 3.5-hour drive south of Perth, this wine destination speaks for itself.

For media or image requests, please contact:

Clare Wilkes, Tourism Western Australia: cwilkes@twa.australia.com / 0207 438 4658