The Advertiser 2017 Food Awards: Africola named Restaurant of the Year

THE 2017 Advertiser Food Awards have been revealed, with Africola, a favourite of visiting rock-stars and dignitaries alike, upstaging the more elite diners for the ultimate accolade. Here’s who won best new restaurant, best chef, and all the other categories.

Duncan Welgemoed, chef and co-owner of Africola, The Advertiser Restaurant of the Year for 2017. Picture by Matt Turner.

• Click here for the 2018 Advertiser Food Guide

THE little rabble-rousing eatery Africola, a favourite of visiting rock-stars and dignitaries alike, has upstaged the more elite diners to win the ultimate accolade at The Advertiser Food Awards.

With its vibrant celebration of the food of northern Africa, flawless service and rollicking atmosphere, Africola wowed our judges who were unanimous in naming it Restaurant of the Year for 2017.

Co-owner and chef Duncan Welgemoed and his team were among more than 150 of the state’s most influential hospitality and food figures who gathered at Sir Keith Murdoch House on Monday night for the presentation of the awards and launch of The Advertiser Food Guide, in digital form this year.

A selection of some of the state’s best farmers, fishermen and other producers, were special guests for the night, their contribution celebrated in a special parade, and their ingredients used to help feed the gathering.

In other major awards, respected Barossa cook Mark McNamara was named Best Chef, for both a lifetime of work and the masterful food and wine matches he has created for the new St Hugo restaurant.

St Hugo cellar door and restaurant chef Mark McNamara with Barry Porter of Kolophon capers in Barmera. Picture: Matt Turner

Adelaide’s Queen of Spice, Mrs Singh, who has been overseeing the curries and other delicacies at Jasmin for more than 30 years, received a huge reception when she was declared an Adelaide Food Legend.

Other venues to feature included Summertown Aristologist (Best New Restaurant), Shobosho (Best Japanese/Korean) and Osteria Oggi (Best Italian). The growth in high quality dining options outside the metropolitan area was recognised with two regional awards, one for winery restaurants won by Hentley Farm, and another for independent operators, taken out by The Salopian Inn.

Karena Armstrong from the Salopian Inn

City cafe and patisserie Abbots and Kinney took out the Best Cheap Eats award, while tapas bar Comida in the Adelaide Central Market was named Best Lunch in the CBD. The Best Bar award went to Bar Torino.

The awards are judged by The Advertiser food team, who visited more than 200 venues this year for the 170-plus recommendations that appear in the online The Advertiser Food Guide.

Africola was described by the judges as “a rambunctious, joyful celebration of life and cultural diversity”, and Welgemoed lauded as “a man with an unnatural gift for getting wild, untrammelled flavours to do his bidding”.

“Africola is always at the frontline of what’s hot in Adelaide. It’s the go-to for festival and fringe goers, it’s a major attraction for visitors and sets an upbeat tone for their ongoing Adelaide dining experience,” judges said.

McNamara, the judges said, had “tapped even more creatively into what it means to marry food and wine with the most powerful of regional bonds. He drills deeply into each wine’s aromatic, flavour and textural spectrum before devising a dish to suit.”

All the 2017 Advertiser Food Awards

Restaurant of the Year

Africola

The rebirth of Africola, with a focus on the flavours of northern Africa, is a triumph at every level, bristling with a contagious energy that has made it the hottest eatery in town.

PorkStar Chef of the Year

Mark McNamara (St Hugo)

A revered figure in the Barossa, Mark has taken his exemplary classical skills into a brave new project in which wine is the starting point, and each dish is matched to detailed aroma and flavour observations.

TAFE SA Adelaide Food Legend / Best Indian

Mrs Singh (Jasmin)

Our Queen of Spice Mrs Singh has kept up the lofty standards in the kitchen at Jasmin for more than 30 years. No wonder it is still Adelaide’s favourite curry house.

Yalumba Best New Restaurant

Summertown Aristologist

A restaurant that is new in every sense, the Summertown Aristologist makes everything from scratch and is a perfect fit for this patch of the Hills.

Best Italian

Osteria Oggi

The stylish, award-winning design of Oggi is more than matched by the creative pastas and other dishes prepared in an elevated kitchen that is like watching actors on a stage.

Best Japanese/Korean

Shobosho

The ancient and the modern, the traditions of Japan and Korea, and the genius eye of some of Adelaide’s smartest hospitality creatives, are all brought together in a spectacular package at Shobosho.

Best South-East Asian

Sukhumvit Soi 38

Soi 38 raises the bar on familiar Thai dishes with house made pastes and sauces delivering fresh, punchy flavours alongside locally sourced seasonal produce.

Best Regional Restaurant (Winery)

Hentley Farm

Under the watchful eye of executive chef Lachlan Colwill, the cooking at Hentley Farm is a step ahead of the rest, theatrical, beautifully plated, yet not at all over-designed — in perfect step with its Barossa setting.

Best Regional Restaurant (Independent)

The Salopian Inn

Salopian Inn chef-owner Karena Armstrong gives real meaning to those food buzzwords, local and seasonal. Also features a cracking wine list and 230-bottle gin collection.

Best Community/Suburban Restaurant

Seed Winehouse + Kitchen, Clare

Not only is Seed a great attraction for visitors to the Clare Valley but an absolute boon for a regional community. It feels like every local who’s hungry for the thrill of a modern chef-driven menu are regulars.

Best Cheap Eats

Abbots and Kinney

With talented chef Rocky Oliviera in the kitchen, this cafe/patisserie is breaking the mould for daytime cafe fare. Yes, you can still get that man-sized sausage roll, but you’d be a fool not to cast your eye on the seasonal menu that might include hearty pork belly or fried zucchini flowers.

Best Lunch in the CBD

Comida

Escape the workday blues with a visit to this tapas bar in the Central Market that will transport you to a back alley of Barcelona. Everything from small snacks to sophisticated plates is made with care.

Best Café

My Kingdom for a Horse

This cafe has brought life to the south west of the city, helps local businesses and simply can’t be beaten for service, knowledge and damn fine food and house-roasted coffee.

Best Bar

Bar Torino

A proper European-style bar, polished, handsome and refined, with cracker wine and spirits selection, next-level bar food and supreme service from the second-generation of Chianti’s Favaro family.

Best Service

Nikki Friedli (Africola)

Nikki is the key to the seamless operation of our Restaurant of the Year, from steering insanely busy nightly service to delivering a sometimes challenging wine and cocktail list.

Best Wine List

Apothecary 1878

Paola Coro’s delightfully curated wine list is written with passion and creativity as well as a well-practised eye to how guests wish to read, choose and drink in either bar-casual dining mode or engaged at a more intense full fare experience.