Matt Preston is the people’s prize in delicious100 competition
Delicious100’s People’s Choice competition winner Patrick Campbell dined out with celebrity foodie Matt Preston at new city bar Leigh Street Wine Room.
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You mightn’t find a better dinner guest than Matt Preston – and the proof was in the pudding on Tuesday night, when The Advertiser’s delicious.100 People’s Choice competition winner Patrick Campbell got to dine with the larger-than-life TV personality.
But it wasn’t a fan-boy moment for the engineer, who brought along his wife, Tracey, as his date.
“I probably shouldn’t say this, but I have never watched MasterChef!” Patrick said to the former cooking competition show host, after sitting down at hot city bar and restaurant, Leigh Street Wine Room.
Ice broken.
Patrick and Tracey’s dinner with Matt and delicious.South Australia editor Jess Galletly was the prize of the People’s Choice competition, which saw more than 22,000 SA foodies vote for restaurants they thought should be higher, or lower, on the delicious100 list.
“We sat up in bed with a cup of tea one Sunday morning and did it,” Tracey says.
Patrick adds, “We spent a lot longer on it than we probably needed to – it’d be like, ‘oh remember (eatery) Lost in a Forest…?’ There’s always a funny story attached to something.”
The pair, who manage to eat out once or twice a fortnight, pick The Salopian Inn in McLaren Vale and Shobosho in the city as two favourites.
But they were mightily impressed by their first visit to Leigh Street Wine Room, a delicious100 restaurant that has fast made a mark on Adelaide’s dining scene since opening a couple of months ago.
A shared meal matched with wines included chicken liver parfait with vermouth jelly, grilled beef tongue with horseradish and chocolate and hazelnut mousse – in the shape of a mouse.
It was Matt’s second time dining at the former dry-cleaning shop, headed by ex-Heston Blumenthal chef, Nathan Sasi.
“A very fun night with fellow food lovers full of interesting wines, great food – my how good is their gnudi – and great conversation all round,” enthused Matt.
And it wasn’t the only highlight of his two-day Adelaide trip.
A last-minute booking at city Thai restaurant Soi.38 on Monday had him rubbing shoulders with former Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher, who of course was in town with his High Flying Birds to support U2’s Tuesday gig at Adelaide Oval.
He also snuck in some pre-dinner snacks on Tuesday at 2018 winner Sashi Cheliah’s week-old restaurant Gaja by Sashi (and was blown away by the food).
“Brilliant creative take on Indian and South East Asian flavours (and his smile) makes this place a must do,” Preston captioned a photo on Instagram.
Cheliah, whose new eatery has only been open for a week, admitted to a few nerves as he whipped up a few dishes for the former MasterChef judge.
“Still had butterflies in my stomach while serving him. Great having you,” Cheliah wrote on Instagram.
Matt has flown off to Brissyto continue his tour of his latest cookbook, More by Matt Preston.
SEE: the delicious100, ranking SA’s best 100 restaurants, advertiser.com.au/delicious100