Sweet Tooths at the Ready as Clubs Embrace New Perfect Plate Category

It’s often said that a dessert is an expression of creativity and culinary mastery, so it’s only fitting that the Your Local Club Perfect Plate Awards have this year expanded to include such a category.

In fact, ‘Best Dessert’ has attracted a sweet selection of entries from more than 40 club eateries in the category’s inaugural year.

Perfect Plate Awards ambassador Courtney Roulston says she wasn’t surprised to see a big response from clubs at the inclusion of a dessert component.

“Everyone knows there’s a second stomach for dessert, so I think it’s a great option. A lot of people go to clubs for desserts, and cakes and coffee — I think it will be really interesting to see the entrants that we’ve got this year,” says Courtney.

Fellow ambassador Matt Moran says the dessert option provides an opportunity for the involvement of more club kitchen staff.

“The Dessert category is fantastic, it really opens it up a lot more for these budding pastry chefs,” says Matt.

Entries include the Verandah Beecroft’s Cinnamon Crème Brulee with Candied Orange and Almond Biscotti, Club Mudgee’s Baked Caramel Cheesecake and The Ary Toukley’s Belgium Chocolate Fondant.

And there must be plenty of sweet tooths in the Hunter, with two eateries from Cessnock Leagues Club entering the dessert category — Salted Caramel and Apple Pudding at Entice Bistro, and Sticky Date Pudding Doughnuts at the Club’s Vincent Street Kitchen + Bar.

“The Your Local Club Perfect Plate Awards are now in their fourth year, and we have seen some truly exceptional competition dishes served up so far — but clubs have typically opted to enter main meals,” said a Your Local Club Perfect Plate Awards spokesperson.

“So, this year we wanted to encourage clubs to get innovative in the kitchen by introducing a new challenge: a ‘Best Dessert’ category, and we are very excited by the creative sweet treats they have created for the competitions.”

As part of their ambassadorial roles in the Your Local Club Perfect Plate Awards, Courtney and Matt will embark on a road trip across NSW in search of some of the best club meals.

More than 170 eateries across 148 clubs are participating in this year’s competition, which runs until 16 June.

The 13 clubs that receive the highest average score for their dishes based on patron ratings will be crowned the winner of their respective region. There will also be three state-wide winners announced in the small, medium and large club categories, as well as one state-wide winner in the new Best Dessert category.

“We’ll be trying as many as we possibly can,” says Matt. 

“The great thing about this competition is the customer gets to decide who’s going to be the winner.”

For a full list of participating clubs, visit PerfectPlate.com.au.