Greater Geelong venues dished up at Golden Plate awards

Greater Geelong has cemented its culinary credentials at the 2022 Golden Plate Awards, mopping up many of the top honours at the regional hospitality awards ceremony in Geelong last week.

North Geelong restaurant/function venue 1915 hosted the 20th year of the statewide awards, with new French-inspired Claribeaux at the Curlewis Golf Club taking out the Best Casual Dining award.

Judges made special note of Claribeaux’s use of quality local produce and drinks, prompt and welcoming customer service, and said the “prices, choices, portions sizes and value for money were good.”

The Bellarine’s Jack Rabbit had another strong showing this year after taking out several awards in 2021, winning the Best Menu of Local Produce and Best Customer Service awards and being highly commended in the Best Contemporary Dining award category.

The Malt Shovel Taphouse in Geelong received the Best Hotel Dining award, with judges remarking that they had been “impressed by the continuous improvements” of the venue since its makeover and relaunch two years ago.

Winter’s Café in Newtown won the Best Unlicensed Café category, and fellow Pakington Street institution Blank Space was highly commended in the Best Licensed award category.

The Surfside Café proved that having a high street or seaside site was not a precursor to success. Located in the Bellarine Aquatic Centre, the Ocean Grove eatery and caffeine merchant claimed the Best Coffee Award, and was highly commended in the People’s Choice Award and Best Unlicensed Café.

Top spot in the People’s Choice went to café, bar and woodfired pizza venue Bean & Base in Rippleside. It earnt the remark from judges that when they visited it was “booked out for the night and no wonder”, and that their first visit would not be their last.

The 18th Amendment on Little Malop was given several claps by judges, highly commended for the Most Outstanding Front of House award, Best Customer Service award and Best Cocktail Bar or Cellar Door awards – losing out in the final category to its newly opened sister venue in Ballarat.

Bellarine dairy producer Lard Ass was fittingly given the Chef’s Choice award for their butter, an ingredient few cooks enter a kitchen without.

Rounding out the night with one of the biggest individual gongs was 1915’s head chef Andy Symeonakis, who won the Peter Watson Memorial Best Chef award.

The judging process for the award included a MasterChef-style cook-off between eight of the state’s best chefs, using a mystery box of produce and other food items.