Well it's official, Margaret River has receieved the 2011 GWN7 Top Tourism Award for Western Australia!

Margaret River competed against five other finalists, including Armadale, Busselton, Broome (winner 2010), Kalgoorlie and Kununurra and this is the first year that Margaret River has won this prestigous award.

GWN7 will now provide the Augusta Margaret River Tourism Association with a $25,000 airtime package to promote the region on WA's number one regional TV network, so there's sure to be more great things on offer in this amazing part of WA.

Wildwood Valley is situated in the heart of the Margaret River Wine Region and we pride ourselves on offering a unique and personalised service to all our guests, so it's fantastic when our local tourism association is also recognised for the excellent service they provide. Well done to all!

Last week here in Italy the country celebrated their National holiday, similar to Australia day.

It was pre organised that we would congregate as the whole village for lunch.  We ended up having 33 people and enough food for 90, no exaggeration! The same number of people ate the leftovers for dinner that night and once again we congregated all together for lunch the next day to try and finish up all the remaining leftovers!!! At the end of the third meal together there was still food left over, so you can only imagine the quantity of food that we had to start with!

It was decided that we would base the lunch around game meat.  First we started with nibbles and the aperitifo, followed by antipasto, sliced meats and bruschetta, then we progressed to first course and had two types of pasta, which means that you have to eat two plates of pasta not just one.

We indulged in the Pappardelle al Cingiale which is a famous pasta dish to our region of Tuscany. Pappardelle is thick ribbons of homemade egg pasta and served with a rich meat sauce made from wild boar.  The second pasta was ravioli with burro and salvia, which Carlo boasted to everyone prior to the lunch that I was great at making the burnt butter and sage sauce, hence I had to have four fry pans going at once to be able to make enough for 33 people.

The main course was an exaggeration of game meats that had all been roasted in Tina and Leonardo’s wood fired oven. We had rabbit, pigeon, wild pigeon, pheasant, guinea fowl, and these tiny little birds, smaller than quails called Tordi, plus a few chickens.  As you can imagine I was in heaven as I really like game meat.

When we were in the planning stages a week before the lunch, five of us came together to discuss the menu and who would do what.  At that time it appeared that all the savoury dishes, pasta and meats were being prepared by everyone, however there was only one lady who was making one cake. I said that I would make 30 panna cotta’s with sticky peaches and then there would be dessert for everyone!

Well I should have known better than to believe that the Italians would think that was sufficient.  Much to my horror on the day there was my 30 panna cotta's and another 5 large tarts or cakes, plus homemade praline.  So yes we had more than enough desserts for 90 people again.  After all these years being married to an Italian it never ceases to amaze me just how much food they put on the table, especially when you have company. The funny thing is that they know that it is an absence amount of food, but they can’t stop themselves.  On the flip side between those 33 people they only drank 5 bottles of wine, whereas had we been in Australia we would have drunk 30 bottles of wine!!!

Once again another memorable meal and experience in bella Tuscany!

Written by: Sioban Baldini

I have spent another great day in the kitchen with my next door neighbor Tina, making homemade pasta. We choose to make pici which is a classic pasta from this area of Tuscany. Pici is made simply using 00 type flour, salt and water, and combined into a pasta dough and kneaded for about 8 minutes; it’s then left to relax for a minimum of half an hour.

We then roll it by hand into thick long threads which look like a thick spaghetti. The pasta is white rather than yellow as it is not made with egg.

Tina suggested that we make it with the classic sauce of, pici a cacio e pepe. This is a very simple sauce made with sautéed pancetta and seasoned with quite a bit of black pepper and parmesan cheese. We then simply placed the boiled pici in the fry pan and tossed.


Every year when I am back in Tuscany I learn how to make different types of pastas by hand. I have been making homemade pasta for years, but it has been much more pleasurable to roll it by hand with my neighbor rather than using the pasta machine, that I used for years working in professional kitchens.

I can't wait to share all my new Tuscan recipes during the next round of Mad About Food Cooking Classes!

Here at Wildwood Valley we are very excited at the recent announcement of the finalists for the 2011 GWN7 Top Tourism Awards, as both Margaret River and Busselton have made the top six in the State awards!

Even better news, is that Wildwood Valley Villa & Cottages falls in right in the heart of both of these amazing regions! The GWN7 Top Tourism Awards recognises the efforts made by a Visitor Centre within the region and how they provide tourism facilities and activities for visitors. The winner will then receive a $25,000 TV campaign with GWN7.

So from all of us here at Wildwood Valley, we wish Margaret River and Busselton all the best with the awards in October and here's hoping that the South West will bring home more State Tourism awards!

After spending a few hours on Sunday at the Yallingup Wood Fired Bakery with Gothard, I came away thinking that what he said was so true!!

 

Why do we refer to traditional ways and methods, as the alternative now days, when for thousands of years that was just normal!

 

We are extremely fortunate to have Gothard baking his wonderful wood fired bread just 5 km down the road.

 

He is an experienced baker who has been baking in the area for 8 years and immigrated from Germany making his bread in the traditional methods that were used for centuries. He explained the daily process from scratch and explained that the first most important task is to source good flour. He said that he has been very fortunate to find the Eden Valley Mill, a bio – dynamic mill which produce a stone ground flour. He said the bread would not be what it is today, if he used bulk manufactured flour.

 

He explained how he spent a long time in Germany looking for the old fashioned mixers, that take one hour to knead the dough, rather than a mixer that you would find in a commercial bakery, where it would only take 5 - 15 minutes to knead.  He chooses to use a small amount of yeast and then leaves his bread all day to prove, rather than requiring it to prove in a couple of hours.

 

When establishing his bakery 8 years ago, he chose to go against the conventional hours of running a bakery, which are so undesirable for staff, for example starting at 2am in the morning so that bread is coming hot out of the oven at 6am.

 

Instead he bakes his bread in the afternoon so that it comes hot out of the oven from 4pm and his staff are finished by 6 pm.  He also introduced a culture of where his bakers are multi skilled in all area’s so that they have diversity in their job.  He said that it is interracial to him that his staff enjoy their work and this has proven to be successful for him, as he has had a baker with him for 6 years.

 

It’s not hard to imagine why a baker such as Gothard, has produce that thrives in today’s society….even when the ‘normal’ is the bigger producer.

Written by: Sioban Baldini

Accessing Margaret River and Yallingup has just become a whole lot easier!!

 

As of Friday the 8^th of July, Skywest will be operating two weekly flights from Perth to Busselton, then onto Albany return. Prices start from as little as $69 one way and will operate on Friday and Sundays.

 

This new flight service is a fantastic initiative and is set to enhance visitor experiences in this amazing part of Western Australia, so for more information about the flights visit www.geographebay.com or www.skywest.com.au.

 

If you would like to book your Margaret River weekend away and enjoy the Sounds of Silence at Wildwood Valley, then call us on (08) 9755 2120 or click here to view our winter specials.

We are so pleased with our most recent news, which is that Wildwood Valley is not only rated the number 1 B&B in Yallingup, Western Australia, but we have also just been awarded a Certificate of Excellence from Tripadvisor!

Carlo and I strive to provide our guests, with a unique and personalised service so its wonderful when we receive our clients feedback and comments. Over the last few years, Wildwood Valley has been listed on Tripadvisor which is an independent travel review site that has millions of listings for accommodation, tour and restaurant information around the world.

So to all our guests that share your feedback with us through Tripadvisor, thank you! For those of you that have not yet experienced the magic of Wildwood Valley, we looking to meeting you soon so you can enjoy the Sounds of Silence.

To view our Tripadvisor listing, click here.You can also download a Tripadvisor application for your smart phone, that allows you to access travelers reviews, no matter where you are in the world. Click here to find out more....

Carlo and I are both passionate about food and we absolutely believe in the Slow Food movement. We are keen to help spread the wood, so below is some information from their website..

A non - profit member -supported association, Slow food was founded in 1986 in a small village in the North of Italy Brae.  It was evolved simply to try and counter the rise of fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions and people's dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world.

Slow Food is a global, grassroots organisation with supporters in 150 countries around the world who are linking the pleasure of good food with the commitment to their community and the environment.

Today, there are over 100,000 members joined in 1,300 covivia - our local chapters - worldwide, as well as a network of 2,000 food communities who practice small - scale and sustainable production of quality foods.

Good, Clean and Fair - the three tenets of Slow food's approach to food and food production, as outlined in the manifesto on quality.

Good - a fresh and flavousome seasonal diet that satisfies the senses and is part of our local culture;

Clean - food production and consumption that does not harm the environment, animal welfare or our health;

Fair - accessible prices for consumers and fair conditions and pay for small -scale producers;

Convivium - A local Slow Food chapter. Each conivium organizes a number of events each year, ranging from simple dinners and tastings, where our members come together to share the everyday joys of food, to visits to local produces and farms, conferences and discussions film festival taste education courses for children and adults, promoting CSA's and Earth Markets, and many other events and projects to get to know local foods and producers and to educate others about them.  Convivia are the backbone of Slow Food and they are made possible only through the members, who volunteer their time and energy.  Today, there are more thn 1,300 covivia worldwide.

If you are interested in finding out more about the Slow Food movement, visit www.slowfood.com or if you live locally and were interested in becoming a member you would join the Margaret River Convivim.

Over the past few months we have been spoiled daily with visits by Blue Wrens. They are a joy to watch and guests have all commented on how much they have enjoyed sitting back on their balcony or the gazebo with a glass of local wine, being entertained by these beautiful little birds.

Our international guests continually comment on the variety of wildlife seen daily at Wildwood Valley and thanks again to those guests for sharing your fantastic images.

It will be even easier for guests to reach Wildwood Valley with the recent announcement of direct flights between Perth and Busselton airports. WA Transport Minister, Troy Buswell said that Skywest would soon be operating the Perth to Busselton flight twice weekly.

This is going to make it even easier for International and Eastern State visitors to enjoy the 'Sounds of Silence' at Wildwood Valley, so before you book your next getaway, be sure to click here to check out our hot deals!