gourmet traveller awards 2020

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Melbourne’s Attica Takes Home Top Prize in the Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Awards 2020

Attica's Ben Shewry

Momofuku Seiobo

Australia’s leading culinary stars converged under the sails of the Sydney Opera House at fine diner Bennelong last night to hear the winners of the annual Gourmet Traveller (GT) National Restaurant Awards announced. Comedian Merrick Watts was also there, MCing the evening, and while his first joke wasn’t about the premature release of the winner list earlier in the week, it was the running gag of the evening.

“There were a few people privy to the information about the awards. And that was about 14,000 people,” he joked to the crowd – a couple hundred nominated chefs, front-of-house managers, sommeliers, restaurateurs and other guests.

The attendees didn’t seem to be too worried about the mishap – some said they hadn’t bothered to look up the results doing the rounds on social media after they were accidentally revealed to GT subscribers when the September issue was sent out early (it listed the victors).

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It most definitely didn’t dampen the applause for Ben Shewry of Melbourne’s Attica when he was presented with the top award, Restaurant of the Year. Same with the peer-voted Chef of the Year category, which was awarded to Barbados-born Paul Carmichael of Sydney’s Momofuku Seiobo .

Watts joked when another Sydneysider, restaurateur Kylie Kwong – who recently decided to close her longstanding eatery Billy Kwong to concentrate on other endeavours – pulled out an acceptance speech for her Outstanding Contribution to Hospitality. “Ah, prepared ‘just in case’,” he quipped as the room laughed. GT described Kwong as a pioneer for fostering collaborations and for establishing a new model for Australian cuisine.

Wine List of the Year went to Sydney’s fun-loving live-music-and-a-show restaurant Mary’s Underground , where the list is curated by Mary’s Group wine director Caitlyn Ress.

This year, GT introduced a new award for Best Design, which went to Melbourne’s singular Italian restaurant Di Stasio Città , an idiosyncratically beautiful space that GT described as “part temple, part stage, part party”. It also snagged the award for New Restaurant of the Year.

Also from Victoria, Joanna Smith, co-owner and wine guru at Geelong’s Igni , won the Maître d’ of the Year award. And for the second year in a row, Birregurra’s Brae won Regional Restaurant of the Year. Leanne Altmann, the beverage director of one of Melbourne’s leading hospitality groups, the Andrew McConnell restaurants , won Sommelier of the Year.

The only Perth venue to win a gong – for Bar of the Year – was Wines of While , which GT praised for establishing itself as ground zero for Perth’s natural-wine scene in less than a year. Alanna Sapwell, of Brisbane’s Arc Dining and Wine Bar won Best New Talent. And finally, the new award for Sustainability and Innovation went to Restaurant Orana in Adelaide.

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The finalists in the Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Awards 2020

NEW RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR

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Winners of Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Awards announced

Gourmet Traveller unveiled the winning restaurants and culinary talent of its Gourmet Traveller 2023 Restaurant Awards last night at the hospitality industry’s event of the year.

Taking out the top gong for Restaurant of the Year for both its state and nation-wide, is South Australia’s Restaurant Botanic with chef Justin James accepting the award at the gala event held at Sydney’s Shell House.

Celebrated for its iconic location within Adelaide Botanic Garden, the restaurant is renowned for celebrating the beauty of nature and using the garden’s bounty to create a dining experience with a unique sense of place.

The star-studded hospitality guest list included the likes of top chefs Neil Perry, Shannon Martinez, Ben Shewry, Brigitte Haffner, and Andrew McConnell. Perry’s Double Bay restaurant Margaret was named both Best New Restaurant and the NSW state winner of Restaurant of the Year.

Tasmania claimed Best Destination Dining for Van Bone in Marion Bay, while Hobart’s Fico was named the state winner.

Best New Talent went to the creative duo behind Willunga wine bar Muni – Mug Chen and Chia Wu – in South Australia.

From Victoria, Thi Le was voted Chef of the Year in the night’s only peer-voted category, while Shannon Martinez was named Restaurant Personality of Year. Tedesca Osteria was named the state winner for the second year in a row.

Gold Coast wine bar Paloma was singled out as the Wine Bar of the Year, while Essa was awarded the state prize for Queensland.

In ACT, Pilot was named best restaurant for a second year running, while Perth’s Lulu La Delizia took out the honour for Western Australia.

The event marked the first time the awards were announced in person, following more than two years of Covid restrictions and disruptions.

Full profiles of all the winners, along with the full 2023 Restaurant Guide, feature in the October issue of Gourmet Traveller.

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Gourmet Traveller WINE New Zealand Winemaker of the Year 2020 Awards announced

L-R: Thibaut Caumont, Jen Parr, Judy Sarris and Bob Campbell MW. Supplied. Photographer: Melissa Palmer / Whitedoor

On the 20 th January, Gourmet Traveller WINE announced the winners of their third annual New Zealand Winemaker of the Year Awards at an awards dinner held at Gusto at the Grand in Auckland.

I chaired the judging panel together with wine writer, judge and wine consultant Cameron Douglas MS and Liz Wheadon general manager of Auckland wine retailer, Glengarry Wines .

We chose the following six Winemaker of the Year finalists (in alphabetic order):

• Peter Bartle, Vin Pro (Central Otago)
• Andrew Keenleyside, Akarua Wines (Central Otago)
• Alastair Maling MW, Foley Family Wines (Auckland)
• Larry McKenna, Escarpment Wines (Martinborough)
• Jen Parr, Valli Wines (Central Otago)
• Gordon Russell, Esk Valley Estate (Hawke’s Bay)

And the winner is… Jen Parr

Jen was born and raised in Oregon, graduated from Stanford University and became a successful software salesman in London before being bitten by the wine bug. She worked harvests at Villa Maria and Craggy Range before joining Olssens in Central Otago as assistant winemaker and was subsequently promoted to the position of winemaker. Jen later joined Valli as winemaker.

Clearly one of this country’s most promising and enthusiastic winemakers, Jen has already made her mark on Central Otago wine but is likely to make an even greater contribution in the years ahead.

Previous winners are:

• 2018 – Dominic Maxwell, winemaker Greystone and Muddy Water (North Canterbury)
• 2019 – Helen Masters, winemaker Ata Rangi (Martinborough)

The New Zealand Viticulturist of the Year 2020 is Jason Flowerday of Te Whare Ra (Marlborough)

Jason grew up on his family’s farm in Marlborough and worked in his father’s vineyard contracting business. After working for two local winemakers, he moved to South Australia where he worked for local wine producers while managing an eight-hectare biodynamic vineyard which he owned, together with winemaker wife Anna Flowerday.

Jason and Anna purchased Te Whare Ra with its well established 24-hectare vineyard which they converted to a biodynamic/organic regime. In addition to his own vineyard, Jason consults to a number of Marlborough producers and growers together with a couple outside his region.

• 2018- James & Robin Dicey, Ceres Wines (Central Otago)
• 2019 – Ivan Sutherland, Dog Point Vineyard (Marlborough)

The New Zealand Leadership Award 2020 went to James Millton of Millton Vineyards & Winery (Gisborne)

The Leadership award recognises individuals who have been an inspiration to others in the wine industry. As the father of organic wine production in this country, James has certainly inspired many in the organic and biodynamic wine world. He is the past Chair of Organic Winegrowers NZ and has sat on the council of the Bio-Dynamic Farming and Gardening Society of New Zealand . In 2009, James received the Jon Manhire Award for outstanding contribution to the organic sector. In 2012 James was invested at Government House and made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the wine industry.

Rather than resting on his accomplishments, he has always been keen to share his ideas, experiments and successes with others, for the benefit of the land, the people working on it, and the wine industry.

• 2018 – Michael Brajkovich MW, winemaker, Kumeu River Wines (Kumeu)
• 2019 – Rudi Bauer, Quartz Reef (Central Otago)

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GT’s best meals of 2020

UDANG BALADO (HOT AND SPICY PRAWNS), AH BENG KOPITIAM | PERTH, WA

Max Veenhuyzen, Western Australia state editor

Despite the year that was, I was lucky to have some really great meals in 2020. There was my homestay with an elderly couple in Hagi, Japan; natural wine and polished Sichuan cooking at Kyoto’s Taiho; a winter picnic with friends in Hyde Park in Perth; the surprise pizza dinner my girlfriend organised for my birthday; plus a home-cooked Kashmiri feast prepared by Masque chef Prateek Sadhu in Mumbai.

But the meal I remember most was a dinner at Ah Beng Kopitiam, a homely, low-frills diner in Perth’s southeast. As we do each year on the anniversary of my dad’s passing, the Veenhuyzens go and eat Indonesian food and Ah Beng tasted like a direct line back to Sumatra, the Indonesian island we lived in before moving to Australia.

While the menu offered all the Indo favourites – ayam goreng (fried chicken), rendang, satay all-sorts – it was the spread of Padang dishes, a regional style of cooking that originated in Sumatra, that really turned our heads.

Ah Beng has since fallen into our regular rotation but to have my first meal there – on such an important day and with the two women I love most – was special. Dad would have loved it (and, as he always did, complained about the “fancy” wine I brought along).

Udang balado (hot and spicy prawns) from Ah Beng Kopitiam, Perth

MEAD-VINEGAR CUSTARD, SIXPENNY | SYDNEY, NSW

Karlie Verkerk, deputy editor

Birthday meals are often memorable for their celebratory nature and sense of occasion. But this one – a long lunch for my partner – was unforgettable for so many other reasons. It was a sunny Sunday afternoon in late March when we entered Sixpenny’s dining room, made even more intimate than usual due to government restrictions. Seated by the window, we made a toast to the year that was (blissfully unaware of the year that was to come), and enjoyed the warm light filtering through the sheer curtains.

Delicious one-bite snacks were followed by seven courses and matching wines; cured bonito, thinly sliced and paired with citrus pepper and lime, followed by kangaroo tartare, then squid with peas and green tomato. The flavours and techniques were of standard-setting finesse, as dish after dish had us savouring each mouthful. As the waiter delivered the final course – mead-vinegar custard with frozen raspberries and strawberry consommé – we were told it would be the restaurant’s last service before heading into indefinite lockdown .

At the time, I knew it was a significant moment in my world, but looking back, I now realise how significant it was for the world of hospitality.

Mead-vinegar custard from Sixpenny, Sydney

GOOLWA PIPIS IN FINO, BAR LOURINHÃ | MELBOURNE, VIC

Michael Harden, Victoria state editor

During the brief, halcyon hiatus between lockdowns one and two , I was both overexcited and reticent about restaurants being part of life again. I craved being fed and watered in style but feared the 20-person limit would make the experience resemble a failed party.

I’ve been a fan of Bar Lourinhã’s exuberant Melb-Iberian food, booze and atmosphere since it opened in 2007 and needed to get back there, not just because of my kingfish pancetta with lemon oil addiction, but because its raucous bustle was so life-affirming. But how would it cope without the roar of the crowd?

Beautifully, as it turns out. The room still felt celebratory, not empty but elegant and Matt McConnell’s food – oysters, pickles, grilled chorizo and pork liver pinxos, Goolwa pipis in fino, roasted mushrooms with garlic cream – is always a party. But the best gift that night was hope. That a restaurant with as strong and loved an identity as Bar Lourinhã could morph into something fundamentally different but equally successful allowed me to see past the hardships and challenges to where imagination, creativity and hospitality (and a truckload of hard work) wins out.

Things might be different but they can still be great. The sense of hope I found at Bar Lourinhã that night in June was unforgettable.

Goolwa pipis in fino from Bar Lourinhã, Melbourne

BETEL LEAF WITH GRILLED PORK, SAME SAME | BRISBANE, QLD

Fiona Donnelly, Queensland state editor

One thing you learn fast as a reviewer is that even in so-called “normal” years you can’t predict which meals will be memorable. Hotly anticipated openings can turn out ho-hum and sometimes under-the-radar experiences yield gold. At the start of 2020 I couldn’t have imagined devouring a meat pie in a careworn Yatala car park would be an event that would leave me elated. But after Brisbane’s (mercifully) short lockdown that flaky-topped pie tasted just like freedom. Simply being allowed to travel to a “non-essential” destination flagged a return to quasi-normality, and I’ll remember the feeling well beyond December. In fact, I recall the joy of that pie each time I fret over friends around the world suffering more stringent and far longer stay-home restrictions.

But when it comes to 2020’s most memorable, a dinner at Thai destination Same Same in January definitely snatches top billing. This stylish successor to Longtime opened last November and recalling the pleasure of that evening in quiet moments has kept me confident and optimistic about Brisbane’s dining scene, regardless of what COVID-19 next throws at us. It’s as much the resilience of Same Same’s owners as it is about the grownup venture they’ve delivered. If they can achieve this after just five years in hospitality – and then, mid-pandemic, launch Agnes – there’s surely hope for everyone.

Betel leaf with grilled pork from Same Same, Brisbane

Gourmet Traveller is Australia’s trusted authority on food, travel and luxury lifestyle, bringing the latest news and trends to life through quality journalism, enticing recipes and evocative photography. For more than 55 years, it has been inspiring and informing Australians with the best in cooking, dining, travelling and shopping. Our critics bring the expertise of years of critical eating, drinking and writing to the table. Plus, as the country’s leading title in the luxury sector, Gourmet Traveller works closely with Australia’s leaders in the travel and hospitality industries to give our readers exclusive access. The Gourmet Traveller legacy is one of trust, prestige and relevance.

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2020 Gourmet Traveller Winemaker of the Year Finalist

"When I heard the news, I was quite emotional. But, the lasting feeling of being named one of the eight finalists amongst other seriously good winemakers!?  You just can't beat that..." Alex Head

Massive thanks to  Gourmet Traveller Wine  for putting together the 23rd annual awards during Covid times. Alex was able to attend the live-streamed dinner with judges at Black Bar & Grill at The Star Casino. Congratulations to the other finalists — all tuning in over Zoom...a cracking night for the industry and an outstanding achievement by all involved.

Alex Head Gourmet Traveller Winemaker of the Year Finalist 2020

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Gourmet Traveller announces 2023 Restaurant Award finalists

After combing the country to determine the best places to eat, Australian Gourmet Traveller magazine recently announced the finalists for its 2023 Restaurant Awards in five different categories: Best New Restaurant, Best Wine Bar, Best New Talent, Restaurant Personality of the Year and Best Destination Dining.

The winners will be revealed soon at a glamorous gala evening at Shell House in Sydney and in the upcoming October issue of the magazine. We list the finalists for Restaurant of the Year below, and you can view the restaurants named in the other four categories on the Gourmet Traveller website using the link above.

• ARKHÉ | Adelaide
• DI STASIO CARLTON | Melbourne, Vic (cookbooks by chef Rinaldo Di Stasio )
• FRUI MOMENTO | Margaret River, WA
• GRILL AMERICANO | Melbourne, Vic
• LANA | Sydney, NSW
• MARGARET | Sydney, NSW (cookbooks by chef Neil Perry )
• ONZIEME | Canberra, ACT
• PEPPINA | Hobart, Tas
• SHELL HOUSE DINING ROOM & TERRACE | Sydney, NSW

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Gourmet Traveller Annual Restaurant Awards crown 2023 winners

Agnes claimed the top honour, scooping the prestigious Restaurant of the Year accolade

Gourmet Traveller has unveiled the winners of the Gourmet Traveller Annual Restaurant Awards at an event on Monday night.

As Australia’s longest-running restaurant awards, chefs and restaurant personalities came together to celebrate the Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Awards, hosted at Brasserie 1930, inside the new Capella Sydney.

Queensland’s fire-fuelled restaurant, Agnes claimed the top honour, scooping the prestigious Restaurant of the Year accolade. The win marks just the second time a Queensland restaurant has been named Restaurant of the Year in the event’s 44-year history, with E’cco first winning the award in 1997.

Gourmet Traveller editor Joanna Hunkin , comments, “Agnes’ chef Ben Williamson understands the importance of light and shade with wood-fired cooking and balances it perfectly, which is no easy feat in a kitchen with no gas or electricity.

“It’s not only the artisan cooking style that makes Agnes noteworthy, the service team here is one of the best in the country, displaying expertise, enthusiasm and hospitality in equal measure.”

Gourmet Traveller awarded seven State Winners in the Restaurant of the Year category, reflecting the incredible calibre of dining in Australia this year. Winners include:

ACT: Onzieme (Canberra); NSW: Aalia (Sydney); QLD: Agnes (Brisbane); SA: Restaurant Botanic (Adelaide); TAS: Peppina (Hobart); VIC: Etta (Melbourne); WA: Millbrook (Jarrahdale).

Peter Gilmore, Rosheen Kaul, Josh Niland, Lennox Hastie and Kylie Kwong were among the top chefs to attend the event.

Chefs from across the nation cast their votes and overwhelmingly named peer, Hugh Allen (Vue de Monde), not yet 30 years old, as their choice for Gourmet Traveller’s ‘Chef of the Year’.

The new ‘Readers’ Choice Icon Award’, as voted by readers’, was awarded to Brae, chef Dan Hunter ’s paddock-to-plate fine diner from a remote patch of beautiful countryside in Birregurra, Victoria.

“After a decade of serving up some of Australia’s finest paddock-to-plate cuisine, Brae is more relaxed and better than it has ever been,” says Hunkin. “We’ve long celebrated and championed this magnificent regional restaurant and we’re delighted that our readers agree.”

Sean Moran from Sean’s Panorama in Bondi – now known simply as ‘Sean’s’ – received a standing ovation as he was honoured with this year’s Outstanding Contribution to Hospitality. The industry veteran will celebrate 30 years of his Bondi restaurant this year, which first introduced the harbour city to farm-to-table dining in 1993.

From New South Wales, Ollie Wong-Hee – the head chef behind popular Byron Bay restaurant Bar Heather – was announced as this year’s Best New Talent.

The night also recognised the personalities who make dining out memorable, with Louise Radman of Hobart’s Institut Polaire taking home Restaurant Personality of the Year.

In South Australia, last year’s Restaurant of the Year, Restaurant Botanic, was awarded the state winner and Adelaide’s good-times wine bar Good Gilbert received Wine Bar of the Year.

Over in Western Australia, Glenarty Road claimed Best Destination Dining and Jarrahdale’s Millbrook took home state winner for WA.

Rounding out the state winners, Aalia was named NSW’s best restaurant, Onzieme was the ACT winner, and Massimo Mele’s Peppina took out the honour for Tasmania.

The Gourmet Traveller 2023 Restaurant Award winners:

RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR : AGNES, Brisbane, QLD

STATE WINNERS: ACT: ONZIEME, Canberra NSW: AALIA, Sydney QLD: AGNES, Brisbane SA: RESTAURANT BOTANIC, Adelaide TAS: PEPPINA, Hobart VIC: ETTA, Melbourne WA: MILLBROOK, Jarrahdale

READERS’ CHOICE ICON AWARD BRAE, Birregurra, VIC

CHEF OF THE YEAR: HUGH ALLEN – Vue de Monde, Melbourne, VIC

BEST NEW RESTAURANT: SERAI, Melbourne, VIC

BEST NEW TALENT: OLLIE WONG-HEE – Bar Heather, Byron Bay, NSW

BEST DESTINATION DINING: GLENARTY ROAD, Karridale, WA

WINE BAR OF THE YEAR: GOOD GILBERT, Adelaide, SA

RESTAURANT PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR: LOUISE RADMAN – Institut Polaire, Hobart, TAS

“The Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Awards recognise the incredible depth and diversity of Australia’s dining landscape and are always a highlight of the hospitality calendar,” adds Hunkin.

Full profiles of each of the winners, along with the 2024 Restaurant Guide, feature in the September issue of Gourmet Traveller , on sale Monday 28 August, 2023.

The Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Awards are presented by S.Pellegrino , with support from Glenlivet, PorkStar, Ilve & Fhiaba.

See Also: Gourmet Traveller to dive into world of drinks with GT Drinks

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Jason Flowerday

Jason Flowerday tends some of the oldest vines in the Marlborough region. A figurehead among organic viticulturists in New Zealand, he is a deserving recipient of this award.

After the judges had chosen Jason Flowerday as Viticulturist of the Year, I began scouring for background information on him and discovered that Raymond Chan had voted Te Whare Ra Winery of the Year in 2014. Chan was a judge for Gourmet Traveller WINE’s NZ Winemaker of the Year Awards, but sadly passed away in 2019. I like to think we got his vote for Flowerday in absentia.

Husband and wife Jason and Anna Flowerday are a formidable winemaking team, but it’s Jason who looks after the vineyard while Anna does the paperwork and the lion’s share of marketing. Jason hates paperwork but loves to escort visitors around his beloved vines. He’s happy to leave the public speaking to Anna.

Jason grew up in Marlborough on the family farm, where the Flowerdays had been since the ’80s. His father developed and ran many vineyards in the area and Jason worked in the family contracting business, and is known as a hands-on kind of guy with a strong work ethic.

He worked for Merlen Wines in 1996, then Selaks, and then Nobilo before moving to its parent company BRL Hardy in McLaren Vale, where he met Anna. Jason worked for other South Australian producers while managing his and Anna’s eight-hectare biodynamic vineyard in Watervale, Clare Valley.

A thoughtful, intelligent man, he’s never happy with the status quo, believing there is always room for improvement. Jason doesn’t have a viticultural qualification, preferring instead to learn by talking to other viticulturists or by feeding his insatiable thirst with books on the subject. His enthusiasm for grapevines has helped build an impressive storehouse of knowledge, which he’s happy to share with others.

Jason and Anna purchased the 24-hectare vineyard and winery Te Whare Ra in Marlborough in 2003 and are now proud owners of some of the oldest vines in the region – most of them planted in 1979.

They moved to biodynamic and organic principles in 2007, gaining full BioGro certification in 2012. The vineyard is a manageable size that allows the couple, both self-confessed control freaks, to run their business with a small team and stay in touch with every stage of the winemaking process from vineyard to cellar door counter.

Jason uses organic techniques to improve soil health and structure by encouraging biological activity, believing that healthy vines produce good grapes. He consults with a number of Marlborough wine producers and growers as well as a couple of clients outside the region.

Te Whare Ra won the Marlborough District Council Environmental award in 2014 and was runner-up in the Association of Biological Farming’s Gaia Award for its contribution to ecological farming. Jason helps convene all the viticultural workshops for MANA Winegrowers, a collective of organic farmers who live, work and play in Marlborough.

Bob Campbell MW

Photography courtesy of Te Whare Ra Wines.