Instagram Takeover: Watershed Wines

Dan Gedge is originally from the UK and started his career at Rick Stein’s The Seafood Restaurant in Padstow, just around the corner from my Food Photography Studio in Cornwall. Dan has been head chef at the Watershed Wines Restaurant since 2014 and as supporter of local growers and producers has gained a reputation for flavour driven, creative, simple and exciting food.

I spent a day shooting Dan’s flavour packed and visually striking menu and was blown away by the beautiful fresh produce and stunning seafood. I was lucky enough to be at the winery on their biggest hand picking of the first Chardonnay grapes of Vintage 2018.

After the shoot we then hosted a five day long Instagram takeover of the Watershed Premium Wines account – posting images and copy curated with Watersheds marketing department with a focus on their current messages of fresh local produce and seafood.

The end result was they gained a spike in audience numbers and engagement, and the channel received ‘lots of action from people we’d normally not get action from’.

If you are lucky enough to spend some time in the Margaret River region it is a lovely place to enjoy a long lunch washed down with some really great wine.

The Margaret River region is surrounded on three sides by the Indian Ocean and so is spoiled for choice when it comes to seafood. Beautiful day boat, line-caught fish with Shark Bay crab, cucumber and seaweed for the taste of the West Coast.

The freshest of local fish. Day boat and line caught off the Augusta coast, this stunning Nannygai is brought to us by Rod at 34 Degrees Blue. Ocean > boat > delivered to the door = epic flavour and freshness. I am loving discovering the differences in produce and seafood from what I am used to in the UK and here in Australia. Like in Cornwall where we live, they are truly blessed with some incredible fish – and with most of the population on the edge of the continent the seafood is king.

Kimchi Chili Crab – sweet sticky crab sauce beautifully balanced with acidic kimchi from Watersheds supplier JD at Margaret River Kimchi. For those who aren’t afraid to get stuck in and get their hands dirty … the rewards are delicious.

Abrolhos Island scallops, ponzu, asparagus, katsuobushi mayonnaise, wakame seaweed. The Abrolhos Islands and their beautiful coral reef communities lie about 60 kilometres west of Geraldton, on the Western Australian coast, and consist of 122 islands with crystal blue waters and an abundance of sea life. The scallops in this Japanese inspired dish are lightly cured in verjuice and citrus. The freshest local asparagus, good acidity from ponzu and smoky richness from katsuobushi makes this an entrée to knock your socks off, and also very beautiful to shoot.

The finest fresh local produce from the heart of the Margaret River Region. Watershed’s vegetables are supplied by The Garden Basket and direct from the Patchwork Farm who’s sustainable farming produce vegetables of the highest quality, bursting with freshness and flavour.

South West lamb rump, carrot achar, butter poached carrot, sheep’s yoghurt, vadouvan. Inspired by Dan’s travels throughout India. Amazing Arkady lamb from Dave Hohnen’s The Farm House Margaret River paired with humble, locally farmed carrots and a dash of Nannup sheep’s yoghurt.

Stunning dish of Geraldton Kingfish, miso, poached daikon, yuzu, puffed rice. Dish inspired by one of Watershed’s Japanese chefs with Western Australian farmed fish as the hero ingredient. Stunning food.

Blue Swimmer Crabs. Watershed sources some really fantastic Western Australian produce, and thanks to their local fish monger I had some incredible Blue Swimmer Crabs to shoot – these beauties come from Shark Bay in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia which is the westernmost point of Australia. I caught some of these with my two boys earlier in the road trip at night with torches in the shallows, such a great experience – and the crabs are almost to pretty to eat…. almost.

I started the session at Watershed by shooting these buckets of handpicked chardonnay from the Watershed estate vineyard waiting to be hand sorted before being whole bunch pressed and sent to barrel. These grapes are destined for Watershed’s flagship white wine (Awakening Chardonnay) so only the finest fruit and barrels are selected.