Thousands of gourmands from Australia and around the world are about to waddle away from the scenic West Australian town of Margaret River a little heavier after an extravagant three-day food festival.
The Margaret River Gourmet Escape attracted well over the 10,000 foodies that came to last year's inaugural event, with the big drawcard being acclaimed British chef Heston Blumenthal, who received a rock-star reception.
He took to the main stage at the Gourmet Village at Leeuwin Estate winery on Saturday, shrugging off his title of the King of Molecular Gastronomy and instead driving home his aversion to food snobbery with talk of Chiko Rolls, Tim Tams and Vegemite.
Other big name chefs at the event included seafood guru Rick Stein, who demonstrated preparing a fish curry and dahl, Matt Stone of the Greenhouse in Perth and Brazil's Alex Atala, who both led "forager" sessions where wild produce, including marron were tracked down and served up.
The pair also appeared to be inseparable friends, with Stone frequently showing his admiration for Atala with big hugs.
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Open-air cooking was a major part of the festival, a highlight being Sat Bains' beef back ribs at a beach barbecue.
And kids didn't miss out, with cooking classes teaching them fare such as chocolate quinoa balls.
Next year's event is expected to draw even more international attendees, with marketing underway in China, where Australian seafood is revered.
