When the 500-strong crowd of leading industry figures meets for the 42nd Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide awards at Carriageworks tonight, it will be the first time Three Blue Ducks has been up for a major award.
asserted
Ducks → meet → award
In fact, the group’s $210 per person farm-to-table Three Blue Ducks Burradoo in the Southern Highlands has been nominated for two awards: Regional Restaurant of the Year and Best New Restaurant of the Year.
asserted
Burradoo → nominate → Year
The ambitious farmhouse restaurant, located just outside Bowral, opened at Easter within billionaire Annie Cannon-Brookes-backed Burradoo Park, with the former co-head chef of Sydney’s three-hatted Quay, Troy Crisante, at the helm.
asserted
restaurant → locate → helm
Callan Boys, co-editor of the Herald Good Food Guide, reviewed it in September, giving it a score of 16.5 and two hats, making it the highest scoring restaurant of the year at that time.
“With the chef talent involved, I knew it would be good,” says Boys, “but I wasn’t expecting such a cohesive tasting menu of finely tuned dishes.
asserted
I → review → dishes
It’s a long way from avocado toast and slow-cooked lamb shoulder.
asserted
It → ’ → toast
While Three Blue Ducks has been important in the evolution of NSW’s dining scene – it helped redefine breakfast cafe food in Sydney and made paddock-to-plate dining a more accessible, everyday concept – it’s never been up for a major Good Food Guide award.
asserted
it → help → award
The Three Blue Ducks story began in 2010 at the now-closed Bronte cafe, and has grown across the state, including an elaborate farm venture in Byron Bay and now the restaurant in Bowral.
asserted
story → begin → Bowral
Part of its success was applying cheffing techniques to casual and cafe food – a concept that is much more common these days – led by two former fine-dining Tetsuya’s chefs, Mark LaBrooy (who is no longer involved) and Darren Robertson.
asserted
who → apply → chefs
Along with Regional Restaurant of the Year and New Restaurant of the Year, presented by Aurum Poultry Co., tonight’s ceremony will also feature the announcement of 15 other awards, including T2 Tea Restaurant of the Year, Oceania Cruises Chef of the Year, T2 Tea Cafe of the Year and Oceania Cruises Service Excellence.
asserted
ceremony → present → Year
The coveted Good Food Guide hats will also be announced.
asserted
hats → announce → ?
“Since Quay and Oncore closed this is the first time since the 1980s that the Guide has started the reviewing season with only two three-hatted restaurants,” says David Matthews, co-editor of the Guide.
asserted
Matthews → close → Guide
“Tonight we get to see whether any other contenders have made the leap.”
asserted
contenders → get → leap
The Good Food hat rating system – from one to the pinnacle of three – was created by the Good Food Guide more than 40 years ago to give readers a sense of what to expect in terms of food, service, experience and value for money.
asserted
system → create → money
The main goal of this system, and the reviews in general, isn’t to tell readers whether reviewers like a restaurant.
asserted
reviewers → tell → restaurant
It’s to paint a picture of the experience, so readers can decide whether they might like it, and to explain how it sits within Australia’s dining landscape.
uncertain
it → ’ → landscape
This year’s Guide, presented by Oceania Cruises and T2 Tea, features more than 500 independent reviews of restaurants, bars, pubs, clubs and cafes in regional NSW, Canberra and Sydney across various price points, cuisines, styles and suburbs, making it the largest Guide published to date.
asserted
it → present → date
A new signature list will be launched this year: the 100 Essential Restaurants.
asserted
list → launch → ?
These are the places that define dining out in NSW and the ACT right now.
asserted
that → define → NSW
Diversity of cuisine, menu, geography and price point were considered when curating the list, which includes some hatted venues.
asserted
which → consider → venues
The 100 Essential Restaurants list responds to the changing needs of Australian diners – recommending everything from fine-dining restaurants to food-court favourites – and also reflects how our food scene is evolving.
asserted
scene → respond → favourites
This collection will be published in a free 56-page liftout in tomorrow’s Herald, and the list will be available in the Good Food app and on the web.
asserted
list → publish → web
Since launching in 2024, the app is considered the home of the Good Food Guide and is where readers can search the full A-Z list of reviews using map and filtering functionality.
asserted
readers → launch → functionality
The app has more than 3000 reviews and recommendations.
asserted
app → have → reviews
All reviews go live on the app tonight after the conclusion of the ceremony, at about 8pm.
asserted
reviews → go → pm
The event will also be live blogged from 3pm, so you can follow the action.
asserted
you → blogge → action
The winners of the 42nd Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide Awards will be announced on Monday, October 26, presented by Oceania Cruises and T2 Tea.
asserted
winners → announce → Cruises
The awards ceremony will be live-blogged via the Herald from 3pm; the Guide reviews will be available on the Good Food app from 8pm.
asserted
reviews → blogge → 8
You can download the Good Food app here.
asserted
You → download → app
The Aporia
