North Coast Clubs Champion Local Produce in 2025 Perfect Plate Awards

Celebrated chef and Your Local Club Perfect Plate Awards ambassador Matt Moran has praised the trend of using seasonal, regional produce in competition dishes this year. 

“What I'm finding is that a lot of them are using local produce, which is fantastic. And that's a trend that they should stick to because it makes so much more sense with sustainability and supporting the locals,” Moran told ABC North Coast Breakfast Show  host Bridie Tanner during an interview last week. 

On his Perfect Plate tour of the North Coast, Moran sampled a variety of competition dishes, including Bangalow Bowlo’s Bangalow Pork Tonkatsu with Steamed Rice, Cabbage, Cucumber and Tangy Pickled Ginger and Twin Towns Services Club’s Moreton Bay Bug Pizza with Tomato, Red Onion, Capers, Tarragon, Dill, Ricotta and Bearnaise Sauce.

“Good local produce — don’t do a lot to it, let it speak for itself and don’t muck around with it,” Moran said.

At Twin Towns, Executive Chef David Organ said the Club makes the most of its coastal location.

“We’re surrounded by quality seafood. We've got trawlers just around the corner here that we can buy off and source straight from the trawler itself,” he told 7 News North Coast.

Further south, Ballina RSL is dishing up a Prawn Star Curry with a Crisp Papaya and Herb Salad.

“We get our seafood pretty much straight off the trawler every couple of days through one of our fantastic local partners,” said Ballina RSL Head Chef Bradley Browning.

From paddock to plate and ocean to oven, North Coast clubs are proving that the secret to award-worthy dining is keeping it local — and letting fresh ingredients shine.

The 2025 Your Local Club Perfect Plate Awards are underway and Matt and fellow ambassadors Courtney Roulston and Nathan Hindmarsh have visited dozens of clubs to sample their entries. 

Other 2025 Perfect Plate entries using locally sourced produce include:

• Ballina RSL’s Brookie's Mac Sticky Date Pudding which heroes locally sourced macadamias.
• Bathurst RSL’s 18-Hour Slow Cooked Lamb Pizza which uses locally farmed lamb.
• Currarong Bowling Club’s Stuffed Pork Tenderloin which uses locally farmed pork.
• Coomealla Memorial Sporting Club’s Braised Pork Belly Salad which features locally grown pomegranate.
• St Marys Rugby League Club’s Fisherman's Creamy Chowder which uses locally sourced ling fish.
• The Wentworth’s Trunkey Creek Pork Roulade which is filled with charred apples that are locally grown.

At The Wentworth in Orange, the brains behind the Trunkey Creek Pork Roulade are Chef de Partie Jack Clifton and Head Chef Nicole Dews. Both are passionate about supporting local producers and showcasing the incredible quality of ingredients from the region.

With Orange being known for its exceptional produce, Nicole says the Club strongly believes in supporting the community that supports them.

“Our dish showcases what we believe is the best pork available, 100 per cent local, hormone-free Trunkey Creek pork,” she says. 

“It’s paired beautifully with locally sourced apples from Hillside Harvest in Borenore to create a balanced blend of sweet, savoury, and all-round deliciousness. One of our members even told us it was the best meal he’d eaten in Orange in a very long time!”

To find out more about the 2025 Your Local Club Perfect Plate Awards, click here.