A piece of pork with a twist was the winning dish in the regional (southern metro) category of the annual Clubs NSW Your Local Club Perfect Plate awards.
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Sharks Kareela Cove Bar & Grill won first place for its prized cuisine, a 300 gram grill pork rib-eye with peach and bourbon glaze. It comes with a side of roast potatoes and sunflower seed slaw.
The classic dish came out on top in its category, after the public voted it a favourite. The dish also nabbed second place in the NSW medium club award. It was one of 13 regional winners, each which submitted a special competition dish from their menu, with customers invited to score the meal out of five.
Gina Louloudakis runs the kitchen at Sharks Kareela Cove Bar & Grill, with chef Anita Lisson at the cuisine helm. This is the venue's fourth win in a row. This year's winning dish costs $34 for club members, and $38 for non-members. It's worth every cent, Ms Louloudakis said.
"The dish originated from an idea. A gentleman who has a company called Condiment Grove was selling their peach and bourbon sauce to restaurants. We made a jus and combined their sauce with it. We baste the pork with it and it turned out lovely. It's a bit tart, a bit sweet. We put it on the menu and it was a really big seller," she said.
Winners were announced at a gala event on July 2 at Bankstown Sports Club. St George Leagues Club, Jubilee Brasserie, came in second place in the same category, for its lamb wellington with baby vegetables & jus. Bundeena Community & Sports Club was third, for its pappardelle marinara.
Competition's ambassadors, celebrity chefs Matt Moran and Courtney Roulston, visited participating clubs to meet the competing chefs and taste their creations. "Clubs took the Perfect Plate competition to a whole new level this year," Matt said. "I was so impressed with what they plated up. As someone who started their career in a western Sydney club, it was refreshing to see so many young, enthusiastic chefs honing their craft in their local club and pushing themselves to get creative."
Courtney agreed that the competition was fierce this year. "Not only were more clubs competing this year, but we are in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, so clubs had to be innovative when it came to cooking dishes that diners would love and be happy to purchase," she said.
Clubs NSW Chief Executive Rebecca Riant said Perfect Plate, now in its fourth year, was an opportunity to shine the spotlight on club dining and the dedicated chefs that work in the industry. "These days you can walk into a club for a special occasion and enjoy a fresh, creative meal prepared by a hatted chef, or you can order a classic, comforting dish that evokes childhood memories," she said.
