Management News

For the third year running a pair of chefs working at an RSL Club on the Far North Coast has walked away with NSW’s largest culinary award, the Chef’s Table. Gerhard Spatz & Nathan Sherwood of Ballina RSL have taken the top spot despite the competition of more than 2,000 chef pairings, some from the largest clubs in NSW. The Chef’s Table award required chefs construct a three course meal using foods costing no more than $20 per person. With two judges in the kitchen and another on the restaurant floor, the pair then prepared their personally designed meal for 20 people.

The winning three course meal is:

Entrée: Baked Blue Eye Cod with Capsicum Piperade and Truffled Pea Mash, Fish Jus

Main: Beef in Pastry Spinach, Eshallot and Mushroom Farce, Asparagus, Madeira Jus. Accompanied with a Salad of Wild Roquet, Traviso Radichio, Truss Cherry Tomato, Roquefort Dressing

Desert: Baked Zabaglione Ice Cream. Cherry, Walnut and Chocolate Brownie, Malt Anglaise, Candied Banana and Italian Meringue.

ClubsNSW Chairman Peter Newell said clubs today are focusing on food like never before.

“Club dining is today very much at the high end of the restaurant industry. “Clubs have always offered excellent service which is of course a very important part of the overall dining experience. The difference now is that clubs are out there recruiting chefs, even employing directly from overseas.”

“Gerhard and Nathan’s win is one the entire Far North Coast should be proud of. To win three years running when competing against chefs from some of the most successful clubs in Australia is testament to their skill and creativity.

“By purchasing local produce and using their significant buying power, clubs have been able to lift the quality of their menus but without charging exorbitant prices," he said.