Orana named Adelaide’s best restaurant in Advertiser Food Awards for second year in a row

JOCK Zonfrillo and his team at Orana have taken out the prestigious Vittoria Restaurant of the Year title in The Advertiser Food Awards for the second successive year. SEE THE FULL LIST OF WINNERS

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THE trailblazing bush flavours of Orana wowed the judges again and the native food specialist became the first back-to-back winner of the prestigious Vittoria Restaurant of the Year title in The Advertiser Food Awards.

More than 150 restaurateurs, chefs and food heroes, including MasterChef judge and columnist Matt Preston, gathered at Sir Keith Murdoch House on Monday night for the announcement of the awards and launch of The Advertiser Food Guide 2016.

In other major titles, Paul Baker, from the Botanic Gardens Restaurant, was named Best Chef, for his work in sourcing and incorporating ingredients from the surrounding plots in his inspired dishes.

Paul Baker

The Adelaide Food Legend saw a break with tradition, the accolade given for the first time to a place rather than a person, though the Adelaide Central Market certainly has a character all of its own.

See all The Advertiser’s 2015 Food Award winners here

In a year of tremendous energy and innovation, the Yalumba Best New Restaurant category had a host of worthy contenders, with the judges unable to separate the city hotspot Africola and Fino at Seppeltsfield in the Barossa.

Other establishments to feature included Chianti (Best Italian), Cinnamon Club (Best Indian), Hentley Farm (Best Regional) and FermentAsian, the only multiple-award-winner with Best Asian and Best Wine List.

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Market St was named Best Cafe and multifunctional Pasta Deli lauded as Best Community Eatery for having “an answer to all the problems in life that can be solved by delicious, wholesome food”.

The awards, presented by Vittoria Coffee, are judged by The Advertiser food team, who visited more than 200 venues this year for the 160-plus recommendations that appear in The Advertiser Food Guide.

Orana stood out again, our reviewer writing that chef/owner Jock Zonfrillo and his team “have settled assuredly into their role as global food innovators” as they use “native ingredients you’ve never heard of to create dishes of immense complexity and refinement”.

Baker was lauded for “making use of the cornucopia around him” and “translating this bounty in convincing, contemporary style”.

Adelaide Central Market.

As for the Adelaide Central Market, the judges were swayed by the variety of foods available in its stalls and their appeal across all sections of the community.

“For all its unique and high-end gourmet experiences, the market is part of Adelaide’s grassroots food fabric — the heart and soul of a community where people from all backgrounds care about what they eat,” they said.

The Advertiser Food Guide 2016, with more than 160 restaurants reviewed, as well as bars, cafes, food shops and markets, will be available from Friday for $9.95 at newsagents, book stores and the News Shop, 31 Waymouth St.

How the process unfolds

When our judges sit down each year to pick the winners of these awards, it is a process that inevitably leads to vigorous debate as the pros and cons of each nominee are tossed back and forward.

That’s no surprise because, like every diner, we all have our personal tastes and favourites.

This time, however, two things stood out in our adjudications.

First, the Restaurant of the Year, Orana, was a unanimous choice, which in my experience is a first. Over a series of visits, we were all blown away, not only by the thrilling and perception-changing native flavours that are woven together so skilfully, but also by the smart wine matches and the relaxed but flawless nature of the service.

Orana is a world-class package at a price, considering the number of snacks and bigger courses brought to the table, that many would consider a steal.

The Orana team. Picture: Matt Turner

Choosing the best new restaurant was the opposite experience, with a collection of worthy candidates that was difficult to cull even down to the point of finding five finalists.

In the end, we couldn’t separate the colour and free spirit of Duncan Welgemoed’s Africola, in the city, and the new project from regional heroes David Swain and Sharon Romeo, Fino at Seppeltsfield.

While many in the hospitality industry say the past few years have been some of the toughest they’ve seen, a contradictory spirit of optimism and creativity is seeing one of our most exciting periods of investment in restaurants at all levels.

With so many new places, and more on the cards, next year’s decision-making might just end in fisticuffs.