Controversial burger takes out ‘Australia’s best burger’ title

A Melbourne eatery has created a burger featuring two very unusual ingredients that helped earn it the “best burger” in the country title.

When it comes to burgers, there’s some pretty out-there creations. But have you ever heard of a burger featuring a dim sim and potato cake?

Melbourne-based eatery Easey’s has managed to take out the title of ‘Australia’s best burger’ in the Litt Burger of Origin competition with its Motz Madness creation, a double Oklahoma fried onion burger.

Owner of Easey’s and the man behind the burger, Jimmy Hurlston, admitted he took a leap of faith by adding a potato cake and a dim sim, but said he was pretty stoked it paid off in the end.

“I am genuinely humbled by the win,” he told news.com.au.

The hero ingredients are a nod to his childhood – having grown up eating dim sims and potato cakes while on fishing trips with his dad.

Owner of Melbourne’s Easey’s, Jimmy Hurlston (left). Picture: Supplied

Australia’s ‘best burger’ in all its glory. Picture: Supplied

While weird and wacky burgers aren’t usually his thing, Jimmy said he needed to create a burger that was both tasty and out-there to get him over the finishing line for the competition.

Jimmy was up against 17 other burger joints, adding that he was just happy to be among some of the best burger restaurants in the country.

“The burger industry is a small place so I know the competition well and knew it was going to be tough to even make the final,” he said.

In a grand-final event that navigated strict Covid protocols, the ingredients from all five state finalists were flown into Melbourne especially for the world-renowned tasting palate of the chief judge, Cal Stubbs – Australia’s No. 1 and World’s No. 9 ranked professional competitive eater.

RoyAls is the state finalist for WA for its Boujie RoyAl – a double beef patty with American cheese, smoked Dutch cheddar, truffle mushroom duxelle and crispy pancetta.

Bar Luca in Sydney was the NSW winner with its Smoke & Candy – a BL beef pattie featuring American cheese, smoked beef brisket and beer battered onion rings.

Hosted by Hellos Sams on Melbourne’s Chapel Street and cooked by chef Stu (a Victorian runner up), the state-finalist chefs Zoomed in to instruct the Melbourne chef to recreate their winning creation.

Cal then toured the country in a style filled with obstacles – including border closures and strict lockdowns as he valiantly tasted the 17 top burger joints.

“It was a nail biting competition that all came down to the final tasting,” Cal said.

“The competition was really tight between the final four burger joints and only after the final tasting could I decide on a clear-cut winner. I couldn’t go past Easey's’ Motz Madness burger.

“It was soft on the mouth and the onions worked perfectly.”

Cal said it had some “unusual additions” like a dim sim and potato cake that put it over the edge.

Westend burger joint, Hashtag Burgers And Waffles, has won the title of ‘Queensland’s Best Burger’ with its Get Litt creation.

“Australians need to come down and give it a try, even the fussiest of eaters will love this burger, you definitely won’t regret it,” he added.

Jimmy said he was “completely shocked” that he beat the likes of renowned Sydney burger joint Bar Luca, Hashtag Burgers and Waffles in Brisbane and RoyAls in Perth.

However, each of those were the winners for each of their respective states.

Easey's Motz Madness creation, a double Oklahoma fried onion burger. Picture: Supplied

The hunt for Australia’s best burger was orchestrated by social media app LITT to help reignite the hospitality sector in Australia.

It has paid for thousands of these burgers to be given away for free via its Pokémon GO-styled augmented reality treasure hunt in order to drive customers into these small businesses – which need support to bring patronage back to pre-Covid levels.

“Australia threw its support behind us when Facebook gave our country the flick, so this was our way of saying thank you: by giving away a truckload of the country’s best burgers while also shining lots of much-needed attention on small businesses,” said Brett Thompson, co-founder of LITT.