Hawke’s Bay Signature Dish Awards

Hawke’s Bay Regional Signature Dish Winners announced

St Georges Restaurant has triumphed in the formal category of the Hawke’s Bay Regional Signature Dish Competition for the first time under new ownership this year. The Havelock North restaurant won the judges’ taste buds with a dish described as ‘Slow cooked lamb shoulder wrapped in prosciutto, pumpkin puree, handpicked young vegetables, blue peas and barley risotto, preserved lemon butter finished with lamb jus.’

Judges commented “The rich lamb with its salty wrap of prosciutto was sensational alongside the freshness of the vegetables. There were several reasonably complex components in this dish, all of which I felt worked well as a whole, it was a voyage of discovery as I ate my way through these components, The service was exemplary, very polite and careful, all given with a perfect smile.”

St Georges Restaurant also takes out the People’s Choice award for service.

The winner of the Casual Category was Black Barn Bistro, also taking out the People’s Choice for their Dish, with their offering of ‘Cider braised free range pork belly on Skordalia topped with buttered scallops, citrus popcorn, beetroot gel, asparagus and apple injection.’

Judges commented “Great example of a classic dish. A surf and turf style using pork and scallops with all the flair you come to expect from great chefs. There was not a single item on the plate that was out of place. The dried apple, popcorn, gel… everything worked well as each tasty component hit your lips to combining them together for a massive harmony of flavour explosion. What a dish!”

“This is one of the best meals I have ever tasted, I savoured every mouthful, the taste was extraordinary with bursts of flavour from the popcorn and beetroot gel, the succulent cider braised pork was melt in your mouth, the scallops were subtle in flavour and beautifully cooked, the skordalia was so delicious I could have eaten a whole plate of just that alone, the addition of the apple syrup from the pipette topped the flavours off perfectly.”

The winner of the Café category this year was Columbus Mega Café, Hastings, with a dish described as ‘Chefs own Sundried-Tomato infused Turkish Bread; topped with a bed of organic Mesclun salad; Seared Organic Rump Steak cooked Medium-Rare; topped off with Creamy Garlic Mushrooms; and finished with our Chefs own Verjus & Honey onion jam.’

Judges commented “Excellent use of Hawke’s Bay ingredients clearly making up most of the dish. Well balanced overall, creamy mushrooms and salad leaves added nice crunch. Lovely tuille, added height, crunch and saltiness to the dish. Beautifully presented, great using the height of the stack for added wow factor. The colour of this dish jumped from the plate with a good balance of ingredients and textures”

The winners were announced at an Awards ceremony in front of more than 100 people from the hospitality industry at the Hawke’s Bay Opera House on Tuesday night.

25 participating restaurants entered the Signature Dish competition in three categories, formal, casual and café and for the past five weeks they have been cooking up specially created regional signature dishes for the Hawke’s Bay public and visitors.

During the event there were just under 5,000 regional signature dishes eaten over the 5 week event period. “We know that a high percentage of locals dined during this time, it is great to see locals getting out and supporting this regional promotional event” Food Hawke’s Bay Manager Vicky Rope said.

A mystery panel of local and out of town judges had the arduous task of tasting all of the dishes and deciding the winners.

Judge and Editor of Dish magazine Victoria Wells, said she was delighted to have the chance to help with Signature Dish judging once again this year.

“It was a real pleasure being back in the Bay to take part in this year's Signature Dish competition. Each year I'm more impressed with the standard of entries and the obvious thought that has gone into their creation. This year was no exception and it was great to see such different interpretations of Hawke's Bay displayed in the dishes I was lucky enough to try. Dish magazine is proud to be a sponsor of this competition with its emphasis on great local ingredients. Congratulations again to everyone who entered”

Vicky Rope said the 2013 event has built on the success of the last six years.

“It has been a resounding success once again, with all the participating restaurants really getting behind the event with innovative recipes using varied local produce and beverage matches for their diners.”

“The event is now one which is on Hawke’s Bay foodies’ calendars so we hope the event will grow from year to year” Rope said. “We have such a wide variety of fantastic food produced right here in Hawke’s Bay and it is so important that when people dine in our restaurants and cafés in the region that they are actually eating fresh, seasonal Hawke’s Bay food.”

Judges Choice The finalists as judged by the panel of mystery judges, are:

FORMAL

Finalists

• The Farm at Cape Kidnappers, Te Awanga
• St George’s Restaurant, Havelock North
• Mission Estate Winery Restaurant, Taradale
• Elephant Hill Restaurant, Te Awanga

CASUAL

Finalists

• Emporium Eatery & Bar, Napier
• Milk and Honey, Ahuriri
• Mister D, Napier
• Black Barn Bistro, Havelock North
• Vidal Winery Restaurant, Hastings

CAFÉ

Finalists

• Clifton Café, Te Awanga
• Columbus Mega Café, Hastings
• No. 5 Café & Larder, Hastings

The judge’s choice awards winners and runners up are:

Judges Choice - Winner – Cafe – Columbus Mega Café - Hastings

Judges Choice - Runner Up – Café – No.5 Café & Larder

Judges Choice - Winner – Casual – Black Barn Bistro

Judges Choice –Runner Up – Casual – Mister D

Judges Choice - Winner – Formal – St Georges Restaurant

Judges Choice - Runner Up – Formal – The Farm at Cape Kidnappers

The people’s choice awards were voted for by the dining public are:

People’s Choice – Dish – Cafe – No.5 Café & Larder

People’s Choice – Service – Café – SOURCE

People’s Choice – Dish – Casual – Black Barn Bistro

People’s Choice – Service – Casual – JARKs CAFÉ Waimarama

People’s Choice – Dish – Formal – The Farm at Cape Kidnappers

People’s Choice – Service – Formal – St Georges Restaurant

ENDS

© Scoop Media