Nigella Lawson knows good food. The cook, food writer and television personality has been sharing recipes and recommendations to her huge audience for decades, and her recent trip to Perth – as part of her An Evening With Nigella Lawson tour – was true to form.

Lawson shared her Western Australian dining journey on Instagram, and we’ve chronicled her itinerary here. She kicked off her WA food tour with a trip to Balthazar where she enjoyed “[a] big, fat, gorgeous tangle of seafood spaghetti with some beautiful Cullen Wines Grace Madeline Sauvignon Semillon Blend.” She also noted the fact that the restaurant’s facade coincidentally sports her surname etched in sandstone over its ornate wooden door.

Lawson then headed to Cottesloe’s Indigo Oscar, the Latin American dining room in the iconic oceanfront teahouse. Describing the experience on Instagram, Lawson writes: “Saturday night by the sea: went to Indigo Oscar where the food just zings! Kicked off with some exquisitely tangy raw beef tostadas and creamy crab arepas … Then perfectly roasted chicken with aji verde, green salad with cucumber in a mint vinaigrette, plus chips and spicy mayo, all eaten joyfully while watching the sun set.”

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In another post, Lawson celebrates her Margaret River Sunday lunch by declaring: “This is happiness: a long, lazy Sunday lunch at Cullen Wines.”

“It’s paradise here,” she continues, “and so worth the [six-hour] round-trip (not including lunch, of course) to recharge the soul, drink in the beauty – and Vanya Cullen’s divine wines – while eating food that’s locally sourced and exquisitely cooked: baba ganoush of joy; cured kingfish: dry-aged Wagin duck … followed by Margaret River Wagyu beef in peppercorn sauce with local mushrooms, celeriac and watercress; tomato salad that tasted of sunshine; Fremantle swordfish with trout roe sauce, pickled mussels, summer squash and crisp potatoes; and hand-rolled cavatelli pasta with smoked tomato sugo, zucchini blossoms, garlic and ricotta.”

Lawson’s final WA dinner choice – a trip to Lula La Delizia – was made after a recommendation from ex-Masterchef judge Matt Preston, who is interviewing her on stage on tour. “Actually, it was more than dinner,” Lawson shared, “it was a feast. Went for the six-course shared banquet, as it’s fittingly called, and so glad I did. Highlights included … a fabulous carpaccio with pickled Hen of the Woods mushrooms and smoked mushroom salt; utterly exquisite Shark’s Bay scallops with smoked tomato butter; immensely pleasing tagliatelle with capon ragù; and … orecchiette with North West king prawns, baby zucchini/courgettes and chilli, just mind-blowingly, soul-surgingly good. So often I feel that orecchiette taste overcooked and undercooked at the same time, but these were perfection. But then Joel Valvasori is a true prince of pasta! I can’t stop thinking of these astoundingly good prawny orecchiette, and not sure I ever will!”

It’s safe to say Lawson sampled the best of the state and walked away very pleased – and very full.

@nigellalawson