Tassie restaurants recognised at Good Food Guide Awards

TWO Tasmanian restaurants have received two hats at the 2019 Good Food Guide Awards.

Agrarian Kitchen chef Ali Currey-Voumard in the restaurant. Picture: MATHEW FARRELL

TWO Tasmanian restaurants have received two hats at the 2019 Good Food Guide Awards.

This year, seven Tasmanian restaurants were awarded hat status, four of them in Hobart.

New Norfolk’s The Agrarian Kitchen Eatery and Hobart’s Franklin both achieved two hats.

Hobart’s Dier Makr, Fico and Templo received one hat each as did Berriedale’s The Source and Launceston’s Stillwater.

Australia’s best chefs and dining establishments were honoured on Monday night in Melbourne.

Franklin restaurant manager Forbes Appleby said staff members were stoked over the recognition.

“We are very proud of what we do and we are very specific about the things we believe in,” he said.

“It means a lot to us.”

Dier Makr chef Kobe Ruzicka in the restaurant. Picture: MATHEW FARRELL

The Mercury reported on Tuesday on how Tasmania’s night-time economy was growing and surging past the national average with night-time businesses representing 5.2 per cent of all establishments in Tasmania, compared to a 4.7 per cent average across Australia in 2016-17.

NIGHT-TIME ECONOMY IS LEADING THE NATION

Mr Appelby said the Hobart hospitality industry had grown from strength to strength in recent years.

“We have had a number of great venues opening in Hobart,” he said.

The Guide of independent, anonymous reviews is written by a panel of restaurant critics and recognises the best Australian restaurants nationally with hats, symbolised by a chef’s toque.

To achieve a hat is a pinnacle of a chef’s career and a restaurant’s history.

Good Food Guide editor Myffy Rigby said the Guide was a celebration of the industry as a whole.