Blumenthal confirmed for WA gourmet fest ACCLAIMED chef Heston Blumenthal has signed up for this year's Margaret River Gourmet Escape wine and food festival after pulling out of the 2012 event due to a personal tragedy. The British gastronome was the scheduled headline appearance at the festival in November, but cancelled following the death of two of his chefs in a car crash in Hong Kong. Mr Blumenthal will reportedly bring his family, including his mother Celia, to the event on November 22 to 24. Highlights among this year's line-up of more than 25 international and local food and wine personalities include Sat Bains from the UK and Brazil's Alex Atala. "Gourmet Escape has instantly become one of Australia's premier food and wine events and we expect it will develop into one of the best in the Asia-Pacific region," West Australian Tourism Minister Kim Hames said.