Moreton Bay bug roll set to become Qld’s signature dish

It made a splash nine years ago with the opening of a famous Gold Coast restaurant and has been copied numerous times since. Now this tasty Qld fave looks set to become our signature dish.

Rick Shores’ co-owner Nick Woodward. Picture: Nigel Hallett

The Moreton Bay bug roll looks set to become the signature dish for Brisbane 2032.

The crustacean sanga has become synonymous with the Sunshine State since first hitting the menu at hugely popular Gold Coast restaurant Rick Shores in Burleigh Heads nine years ago.

Since then it has been copied by dozens of eateries, with each offering a slight twist on the original, including hot and cold versions of the homegrown seafood.

Celebrity chef Matt Preston said the roll certainly stood out as uniquely Queensland.

This story is part of The Courier-Mail’s annual Future Brisbane series advocating for a focus on the right legacy outcomes from the hosting of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. You can read all of our coverage here.

“(It’s) hard to pick one dish to rule them all for the Brisbane Games but the bug roll is the sort of dish that haunts your dreams after you’ve had it and inevitably draws you back … plus it’s been a hit for such a long time at the top of the tree,” Mr Preston said.

“That’s why it gets my vote. Plus it’s delicious!”

The Moreton Bay bug roll graces menus across Queensland. File picture

Food and travel writer Kerry Heaney also backed the bug roll but said only Rick Shores’ version would suffice.

I love the Rick Shores bug roll and I have tried so many versions, but there has been so many iterations of it ... where they take the bug or prawn and they mix it into a sort of slurry,” she said.

Rick Shores co-owner Nick Woodward said he would be honoured to have the dish become the signature snack.

“I’m all for it,” he said.

“I’ll be happy to dish out bug rolls on the athletics track in the … stadium,” he said.