The Victorian capital is set to play host to the Australian food industry’s annual night of nights come October when the national Good Food Guide Awards travel to Melbourne for the first time.
The Good Food Guide Awards annually announce and bestow awards and hats, symbolised by a chef’s toque, to the best Australian restaurants.
Revealing the best restaurants, bars and chefs from across Australia, the national Good Food Guide Awards 2019 will take place at Crown Melbourne on 8 October, presented by partners Vittoria, Citi and Visit Victoria.
“Victoria is a world renowned food and wine hot spot, so it makes sense to celebrate Australia’s best operators and venues right here in Melbourne,” says John Eren Victorian Minister of Tourism and Major Events.
Victoria had a starring presence at last year’s Good Food Guide Awards, with Attica winning Vittoria Coffee Restaurant of the Year, Kylie Millar taking out the Josephine Pignolet Young Chef of the Year and Arlechin nabbing Bar of the Year, as well as a trio of Victorian restaurants – Attica, Brae and Minamishima – receiving three hats in The Good Food Guide.
To achieve a hat is a pinnacle of a chef’s career and a restaurant’s history, and the term “hatted” has become embedded in the Australian lexicon.
Last year’s national rollout of the Good Food Guide Awards was supported by a gala launch event in Sydney which was attended by more than 750 of the restaurant industry’s luminaries.
The national Good Food Guide, launched last year, independently reviews restaurants, cafes, bars and cheap eats across every Australia state and territory, making it a trusted source of information about where to find the best – and hatted – venues in every capital city and beyond.
The historic move to go national built upon a proud 39-year tradition of culinary recognition, journalism and review. The Age Good Food Guide launched in 1979, followed by The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide in 1984 and the Brisbane Times Good Food Guide in 2015.
The coveted Vittoria Coffee Restaurant of the Year, Citi Chef of the Year and Citi Service Excellence will also be awarded nationally in 2019.
“This is the second year that The Good Food Guide has encompassed all of Australia, and I couldn’t be prouder to shine a light on outstanding hatted restaurants nationwide – from exceptional restaurants in rural South Australia, through to beachside dining in Western Australia, and hidden gems in the backstreets of Tasmania,” says Myffy Rigby, Good Food Guide editor.
“Every year, we go in hungry and leave more excited than ever to share these restaurants and dining destinations with our readers.”
The Good Food Guide 2019 will be published in October 2018.