HONOUR
For our annual night of nights, the leading lights of Australia’s culinary scene
gathered in Sydney to celebrate the Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Awards.
I
t should be no surprise that Gourmet Traveller
knows a thing or two about how to throw a
good party. And true to form, it was a night to
remember when Australia’s food heroes and hot
talents gathered in Sydney in August for the annual
Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Awards and the launch
of the GT 2018 Australian Restaurant Guide.
The gala dinner was held at Chin Chin in Surry
Hills, the new restaurant from Melbourne restaurateur
Chris Lucas. The Sydney outpost of Melbourne’s
favourite South East Asian hotspot has been a long time
coming, and the Oscars of the Australian food world
were the perfect excuse to throw open the doors early.
Guests including Andrew McConnell, Dan Hunter
and Kate Reid flew in for the awards, enjoying cocktails,
laughs and plenty of high-fives with other leading
hospitality figures such as Kylie Kwong, Justin Hemmes,
Matt Moran, Dan Hong, Peter Gilmore and Neil Perry.
Adelaide’s Orana was named Australia’s Restaurant
of the Year – the first restaurant outside Sydney and
Melbourne in two decades to take home the award.
Owner-chef Jock Zonfrillo accepted the top gong.Mat Lindsay of Ester in Sydney took out the Chef
of the Year award, while 28-year-old Josh Niland of Saint
Peter in Paddington was named Best New Talent.
It wouldn’t be a celebration of the best of Australian
dining without a feast to match, and the Chin Chin
team did a stellar job. Louis Roederer Champagne and
wines from Murdoch Hill flowed as chefs, sommeliers,
restaurateurs and maîtres d’ mingled over crab, curry
and coconut sandwiches, and chilli-fragrant mussels
on rice cakes, before a fiery banquet landed with lobster
and crab jungle curry and beef short-rib with coconut
salad among the highlights.
“Whatever you like about good food, there’s
something here for you,” said chief critic and editor
of the restaurant guide Pat Nourse as he launched the
new edition, presented in association with Vittoria
Coffee and Santa Vittoria, and supporting sponsor
Ilve. “It’s never been a better time to be a diner in
Australia. However you like to enjoy yourself at the
table, at the bar or in the kitchen.”
It was a sensational evening with plenty of laughs,
music and cocktails flowing well into the night. ●Clockwise
from top left:
chilli-fragrant
mussels on rice
cakes; the Chin
Chin dining room;
restaurant guide
editor Pat Nourse
and GT editor
Sarah Oakes.
Above: Yuzu-Me
cocktails with
Four Pillars x
Kisumé Bartenders
Series Pure Gin. WORDS MAGGIE SCARDIFIELD. PHOTOGRAPHY JAMES EVANS & LAUREN TROMPP94 GOURMET TRAVELLER