Margaret River region food and wine festival Pair’d announces full festival program for November return

The full program for Pair’d Margaret River festival has been released, with 30 food and wine experiences on offer throughout the Capes region for gourmands in November. The weekend festival will be returning this year — after debuting last year and selling out quickly — with plenty of regional and global talent at events in the Margaret River and Busselton regions. Names in the line-up include Argentine chef and restaurateur Francis Mallmann, Singapore-based chefs Julien Royer, Rishi Naleendra and Dave Pynt, and INXS guitarist and KP Wines founder Kirk Pengilly. Pynt —of Singapore’s Burnt Ends — and Mallmann will join forces with chef and content creator Andy Hearnden, Perth BBQ crew Big Don’s and Yallingup winery Wills Domain for a night of open flames, smokey dishes and coastal wines. The Grand Tasting will bring a four-hour wine-tasting experience, with dishes being prepared by chefs Matt Moran and Silvia Colloca, and a live opera performance by Colloca. Pengilly and KP Wines co-founder Layne Beachley will hold Q&A sessions at the Perfect Pair’d Stage, with British food writer and critic Tom Parker-Bowles a new addition as guest speaker. “I am excited to be heading to the Margaret River in WA in November to participate in the Pair’d Festival, alongside my good friend Matt Moran, and the very talented Silvia Colloca and Kirk Pengilly,” he said. “I couldn’t think of a better way to spend a weekend, enjoying great food and tasting some incredible wines.” Ngilgi Reverie will include a walk and cultural storytelling session at Ngilgi Cave by Wadandi custodian Josh Whiteland, an apertivio hour — curated by wine writer Erin Larkin — and a digeridoo performance by Whiteland, concluded by a opera performance by Colloca. Other events include Wine on the Water — a catamaran cruise along the coast — the Pair’d Beach Club at Meelup Beach, and Metricup’s Beerfarm’s Fireside Feast — which will have Beerfarm, Churchview Estate, and Gabriel Chocolate collaborate on a fire-cooked feast. South West Minister Don Punch said he was excited to see the festival make a return. “Being named Australian Traveller’s number one food and wine getaway after the success of its inaugural year, I’m certain the appeal of returning favourites with the addition of new experiences will draw local and interstate visitors to the festival,” he said. Pair’d director Hannah Pike said the event was a “wine-first” celebration of connection between people, producers, landscapes and cultures. “We’re incredibly proud to present a program that is not just a festival, it’s a region-wide sensory experience that celebrates what makes this part of the world so incredibly special,” she said. “The global wine spotlight will be on Margaret River, and Pair’d offers guests a front-row seat to enjoy the region’s brilliance.”