M
aggieBeeris strugglingwithherapricottreesbackin the
Barossa:“Theborewateris toosalty.If wegetrain,theywillbe
okay,”sheexplainsfromherseatatthetastingtablein Sydney.
Sheandherninefellowjudgesareabouttoembarkona marathontwodaysoftasting
astheyputtheirbodiesonthelinetounearththecountry’smostforward-thinking
producers.“It’sa science– thesoil,thewater,everything,”offersShannonBennett.
Duetotastemorethan 100 productsin twoconsecutivedays,the 10 peoplesitting
aroundthistable– withitscompulsory‘lazySusan’forColinFassnidge’sannualselfie-
spin– aresomeofthecountry’sfoodpioneers;experiencedanddedicatedpurveyors
ofqualityproduce,producetheyknowis oftenchallengingfortheirproducerstodeliver.
Butwhileit’sseriousbusiness,it’salsojovial,thejoyofexcellentfoodbringingforth
talesofthejudges’mostmemorablemealsthisyearandtheingredientstheycovet–
someswipingitemsfromthetable– alongsidetheusualbickeringbetweenMattMoran
andAllaWolf-Taskerassherepeatedlycallsfororderandputshimin hisplace.
“Ithinkthislotis fromByronBay,”PeterGilmoreguesses.Nothingif not
competitive,thepractisedpalatestrytoguesstheproducerateverypresentationof
product.It’ssomethingtobehold,thisraucouscrew,aspassionateaboutcheeseas
theyarethelatestin sustainableveal.Theywillgointoa frenzyoverthebestseafood
andInstagram-madfora tableofseasonalproduce.Andweblamethemnone.
There’sa hungerin theroomasdaytwodrawstoa close– unsurprisingly,notfor
morefood,buttogettheirteethintothereasontheyareallhere:thefinaland
conclusivedebate.Theverdict?Seafoodis gettingstronger.Cheeseis growingin the
categoryandit’sbetterthaneverbefore.Thevarietyofvegetables is outstanding.
Andmeatsoutsideoftheusualarefinallybeginningtoshine.
Theyhavemadecareersoutoftreatingthebestproducewiththehighestlevel
ofrespect,andtheyareundernoillusionthattheirsuppliers,theseproducersthe
delicious.HarveyNormanProduceAwardssetouttocelebrateandreward,area
majorcontributingfactortotheirownsuccess.It hasneverbeenmoreimportantthan
now to know your producer. Congratulations to all of the incredible winners that follow.DELICIOUS.COM.AU/PRODUCEAWARDS
For more information on the 2019 awards.>>PASSIONFORPRODUCE
Theawards’projectmanagerLucyAllon
(above)goestohugelengthsbehind
thescenestomakethesejudgingdays
happen,fromgatheringnominations
toworkingwithproducerstogetthe
very bestshowingoftheirproduce in
front of the judges.16 delicious.com.au