For one weekend in May, Maggie Beer is hosting a small group of guests through the Barossa Valley she calls home. The itinerary reads like an unhurried love letter to the region: farmers market mornings, long lunches, cooking demonstrations at the Maggie Beer Farm Shop, and dinners that run late into the evening. A portion of every booking goes to the Maggie Beer Foundation, which works to improve food and nutrition for older Australians living in aged care.
The weekend is called Maggie Beer’s Table for All. It runs from 22 to 24 May 2026 at luxury vineyard retreat The Louise, and it is, by the look of it, exactly the kind of weekend Beer has spent fifty years quietly arguing for: generous, seasonal, and built around the table.
What the weekend looks like
Friday afternoon opens with a Swirl Sessions tasting hosted by Hentley Farm, one of the Barossa’s best-known wineries, before sunset drinks and canapés at The Louise with Beer herself. A four-course welcome dinner follows at Appellation, the lodge’s restaurant, paired with Barossa wines and what The Louise team are describing — accurately, you suspect — as “rich conversation about flavour, comfort and the pleasure of sharing a wonderful meal together.”
Saturday is the day that earns the price tag. Breakfast, then the Barossa Farmers Market, where guests help the kitchen team choose seasonal produce that will end up on the table that night. From there to the Maggie Beer Farm Shop and Eatery for a cooking demonstration, a long-table lunch, and a hosted wine tasting and dessert in the cellar door. Back to The Louise for pre-dinner drinks and a “feed me” dinner at Contour, the lodge’s casual restaurant, built by executive chef Sam Cooper around the morning’s market haul.
Sunday is left intentionally open. Breakfast at leisure, a wander through the vines, or — for those who want to stretch the weekend out a little further — an optional cocktail masterclass at Barossa Gin Lab, run by Maggie’s daughter Elli Beer.
What makes it different
Most luxury food weekends are about the food. This one is about the food and what it can do. Beer has spent the past decade as one of Australia’s most public advocates for better aged care food, founding the Maggie Beer Foundation in 2014 to train aged care chefs and improve nutrition for older Australians. The Foundation’s work has shifted from advocacy into hands-on chef-led education, mentoring, and training programs, working with aged care kitchens around the country to help them serve food that is not only nourishing but worth looking forward to.
A portion of every Table for All booking contributes directly to that work.
“We’re delighted to welcome Maggie back to The Louise and to create a weekend that captures the warmth of Barossa hospitality and the power of food to connect us,” The Louise General Manager Hannah McCormick said. “From the farmers market to the long lunches and the conversations shared around the table, this is a truly special experience for our guests, and one that delivers a positive legacy well beyond the Barossa.”
What’s included
Two nights’ accommodation at The Louise with breakfast at Appellation each morning, a daily restocked in-suite bar, the full Friday and Saturday programs as outlined above, and the optional Sunday cocktail masterclass at Barossa Gin Lab (additional charge).
The details
- What: Maggie Beer’s Table for All
- Where: The Louise, Barossa Valley
- When: 22-24 May 2026
- Bookings: thelouise.com.au or call reservations on +61 2 9918 4355
- Note: Limited suites available. A portion of each booking supports the Maggie Beer Foundation.
