Star chefs to turn up heat at festival
A stellar line-up has been assembled for this year's Good Food & Wine Show, with top chefs from across the country set to take part in the three-day festival in July.
Culinary doyenne Maggie Beer will join fellow celebrity chefs Pete Evans, Luke Nguyen, Miguel Maestre, Tobie Puttock and Anna Gare - all of whom were picked by last year's audience.
Star host of Channel 7 hit series My Kitchen Rules, Evans is a first-timer at WA's Good Food & Wine Show.
"I'm super excited to come over to WA," he said.
"Manu (Feildel, MKR co-host) tells me it's probably the highlight of all of them."
The celebrity chef world is a close-knit one. Evans said he was good friends with all his fellow event chefs and all shared similar attitudes to food, which made them well-suited to working with WA's impressive local producers.
"We're all really produce-driven chefs so it should be great," he said.
"I'm really looking forward to meeting all the people and creating some healthy recipes with great WA produce."
Beer is the show's biggest drawcard, with Perth fans of the event overwhelmingly voting to have her on board, followed closely by Nguyen, who said he was delighted to be invited to appear.
Exhibition manager Clare Back said the event was expected to top the 30,000 people who attended last year, though organisers were committed to making sure it did not become overcrowded.
While the star chefs will cook live, new interactive events restricted to 24 people at a time will give visitors the chance to get up close and personal or get their hands dirty.
Those include a cooking school run by Yum Kitchen, wine master classes and morning tea with Beer.
"WA is renowned for its produce and it is such an exciting State," Ms Back said. "People here are so passionate about food."
The event, which will run from July 19 to 21 at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre, will also feature tastings, more than 150 local producers and VIP tickets starting from $60.
Source: The West Australian, 3 May 2013
