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Celebrity chef Nigella Lawson loves to escape to WA

Kent AcottThe West Australian
Nigella Lawson and Minister for Tourism Paul Papalia.
Camera IconNigella Lawson and Minister for Tourism Paul Papalia. Credit: Thomas Davidson

Celebrity chef Nigella Lawson has described her second visit to WA and the Margaret River Gourmet Escape as a magical experience.

On the eve of her departure to Britain yesterday, Lawson said she had been happy to be back in WA with “the people, the food and the wine all equally wonderful”.

“The thing about Gourmet Escape is that it’s got such a relaxed, sort of beachy vibe and if you combine the fact that everything is laid-back with the fact that it’s full of people who feel so passionately about food, it somehow creates its own environment, its own ambience which is unlike anywhere else,” she said.

“You have to come here to experience it and I think once you have come to Gourmet Escape, you can’t help but tell everyone else they have to come here.

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“You come here once and you have to come back.

“Even though there’s a lot of produce I already know about, there’s always something I might not have come across before or that has been cooked in a different way. I suppose that’s what makes it special.

“There is this mixture of incredible produce, but at the same time so many people ... are cooking it with such respect and love and I think that’s inspiring.

“And the seafood here is really, as you would expect, amazing. Marron, green-lipped abalone and squid ... but also as a long-time avocado lover, to be able to come and eat avocados where they grow is a treat.

“Food from WA is such an edible ambassador for the State.”

This was the last Gourmet Escape in its current form.

From next year, it will have a 10-day format that will also incorporate events in the Swan Valley and Perth. It will be known as the WA Gourmet Escape and will run from November 8-17.

Tourism Minister Paul Papalia said the introduction of Swan Valley and Perth programs meant the event would be bigger, better and offer more options across different regions.

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