Lobster Dish Takes Club Dining Awards to a New Level

Bankstown Sports Club’s Land & Sea dish — a creative combination of crispy pork belly, grilled lobster tail, corn salsa, a broccolini lollipop, red coral tuile and lobster sauce — took out the top spot in the competition’s ‘large club’ category. Kiama Leagues Club scored the top gong in the ‘medium club’ category with their hearty Slow-Cooked Lamb Shoulder with Cauliflower Puree, and Towradgi Park Bowls & Recreation Club’s melt-in-your-mouth Red Wine Braised Beef Short Ribs earned them first place in the ‘small club’ category.  

The three state winners and 13 regional winners were announced at the Perfect Plate Awards Night held at Norths Cammeray on Tuesday, 1 August. 

From Broken Hill to Batemans Bay, 174 eateries from 146 clubs right across NSW created a special competition dish for their menu, with members and patrons invited to score the meals out of five and cast their votes between 30 May and 9 July 2023.  

An estimated 80,000 Perfect Plate dishes were purchased by delighted diners, with the competition’s ambassadors — celebrity chefs Matt Moran and Courtney Roulston — visiting nearly 50 participating clubs to meet the competing chefs and taste their creations. 

“I tried everything from a delicious duck pie with a mushroom ragout to an incredible beef brisket that had been slow cooked for 16 hours and served with locally sourced roasted veggies,” said Moran. 

“I was so impressed with the quality of the Perfect Plate dishes, and as someone who started their own career in a Western Sydney club, it was fantastic to see so many passionate — and in many cases very young — chefs honing their craft in their local club and expressing themselves through their cooking,” he said.  

Courtney, who began her career at Putney “bowlo”, equally enjoyed her culinary tour of NSW clubs.  

“Club food has come such a long way in the last decade. They still serve up traditional Sunday roasts and the like, but they offer so much more now, from hand-made pastas and dumplings to fresh, locally caught seafood that’s perfectly grilled,” she said.  

“I was surprised with how many seafood dishes and vegetarian options clubs have on offer too — there really is something for everyone on the menu at their local club these days!” 

^{Rebeeca Riant, ClubsNSW CEO with Dr George Peponis OAM, ClubsNSW Chairman}