Toukley RSL’s cooks crowned best club chefs in NSW for second year
THE three dishes which won two Central Coast chef’s the club industry’s highest culinary accolade — and you won’t believe what ingredients they had to work with.
TWO Central Coast chefs have been named the best in NSW after winning a MasterChef-style cook-off — complete with mystery box ingredients — for the second year running.
Club Toukley RSL’s executive chef Alex Patterson and head chef Kurt Sonneman were crowned the winners of the club industry’s most prestigious cooking competition at the annual Chef’s Table event in Sydney on Monday night.
The Central Coast duo battled it out against 80 chefs from 40 clubs in a MasterChef-style cook-off held at Ryde TAFE last month, with the pair announced as the winners at a gala dinner held at Doltone House.
ClubsNSW CEO Anthony Ball said the quality of the chefs and dishes showed that registered clubs were setting the pace when it comes to dining.
“To take out the top honour in this prestigious competition is a huge achievement, but to do it in consecutive years is another feat altogether. It’s a great win for both Club Toukley RSL Club and the Central Coast,” Mr Ball said.
“This competition reached a new level this year with a mystery box element, and with the quality of club chefs it’s little surprise that the judges found it difficult to split the teams.
“It’s another reminder that you don’t have to dine at exclusive Sydney restaurants to sample the finest cuisine this state has to offer, with registered clubs leading the way in the food space.”
Revesby Workers’ Club took out second place while third went to Country Club Gledswood Hills.
Each team was provided with a mystery box of ingredients, which had to be incorporated somewhere in the entree, main or dessert, with each team having only one hour to plan their menu after the mystery box was revealed.
The mystery box ingredients included — pork brisket, beef hanger/skirt steak, Anchor Butter, Anchor Cooking Cream, baby heirloom beetroot, brussels sprouts, enoki mushroom, kipfler potatoes, raspberries, rhubarb, French shallots and zucchini flowers.
The judging panel consisted of Julio Azzarello, Adam Moore, former MasterChef contestant Courtney Roulston and The Red Spoon Company’s Nenad Djuric.
In their judging report, the panel said: “Dessert was an adventure with brown sugar tart and ginger parfait, great flavour pairing.”
Club Toukley RSL’s winning dishes:
■ Entree: carpaccio of Hanger, pickled beetroot and enoki, crispy kipfler, shallot rings and pines emulsion
■ Main: pork brisket roulade, brussels sprouts, salt-baked celeriac, zucchini and flower toasted milk and crispy pork wonton;
■ Dessert: brown sugar tart, poached rhubarb, ginger parfait and raspberry.
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