It's the 20th anniversary of Hunter Valley Food Fight, an event where the Hunter region's best chefs compete in a "blind" competition to create the best dish that is judged by a room full of diners. Come along and find out what the competition was like and who won!
It's a warm winter's day at 11am when the Food Fight ticket holders start arriving at the Rydges Hunter Valley convention centre. Everyone is dressed up in their best for this event which sold a record breaking 400 seats at $195 a person. The annual event is in its 20th year and is one of the pinnacle events for the Hunter Culinary Association (HCA), a not for profit association that promotes the Hunter region as a dining destination. It connects wine makers, chefs and suppliers and fosters young apprentices up the ranks through scholarships and prizes.
Traditionally the Hunter Culinary Association pits Hunter region chefs against Sydney chefs to see if they were equal to the task. This year the association settled on 4 locals for the 20th anniversary of the food fight, bringing back past heroes. Next year there are plans for a female focus with potentially another food region eg Orange or Northern Rivers. With their contacts and those from the three regular hosts Justin North, Colin Fassnidge and Matt Kemp finding chefs to compete isn't difficult.
We sip wine and try some of the canapes designed by 4 apprentices. There's everything from Korean beef tartare with kimchi and yolk jam by Tynan Everett of EXP. to Smoked chicken blue cheese tart with caramelised onion and pickled pear by Samuel Knowles from Amandas on the Edge.
This event raises money for the HCA that feeds into scholarships for young chefs including Hunter region success story Brett Graham who grew up in Newcastle and now has the two Michelin star restaurant The Ledbury in London. In fact two of the former recipients of the Brett Graham scholarship are part of the four chefs cooking today.
There's excitement in the air as people discuss the four chefs. There's the 6 time fighter Troy Rhoades-Brown of Muse at Hungerford Hill and a previous Brett Graham scholarship winner. There's 1 time fighter Chris Thornton of Restaurant Mason and another winner of the Brett Graham scholarship. And there's also 2 time fighter Michael Robinson of the Hungerford Meat Co. And then there is also 2 time fighter Tim Montgomery of The Maryville and The Prince of Merewether. Each chef is responsible for one course and the dishes will arrive "blind" so we won't know who made it and it is up to each diner to vote for their favourite dish. At the end they will reveal who made each dish. There aren't any budgetary constraints but all menus are created within reason. One past year the dessert chef wanted kilos of edible gold (and got it!).
Hosting the day are three veteran chefs who also work on a volunteer basis every year. Colin Fassnidge, Matt Kemp and Justin North are the co hosts along with Hit Network's Jess Farchione. They have an easy banter between them that keeps the mood fun. They also impart knowledge from their years in the industry. When Jess asks Matt about how to succeed as an apprentice his advice is, "It's about working in the right places with the right people with the right leaders with the right person who is actually going to support you. If that person is not looking after you and is not actually educating you, you are in the wrong environment, go somewhere else."
In the centre of each table is a range of white and red Hunter wine that you can help yourself to from winemakers like Thomas Wines, First Creek, Scarborough, De Iullis and Margan. The event starts with introductions from Gus Maher, president of the HCA and he explains the format. There are also live crosses to the kitchen making sure that no food is shown or discussed lest it give away which chef is making what.
The first dish hits the tables just after 12pm and it's a Rocky Point cobia with purple daikon, Granny Smith, finger lime and avruga caviar. It's light and fresh, brought together on the plate with a Meyer lemon and sake cream.
The second course is a smoked beef kromeski with green peppers, cheese mousse and fire roasted tomato. This is divine and I really enjoy the range of textures and the green peppers and tomato balance the richness of the crunchy hot kromeski and the cheese mousse. Our table is split in the middle: half love the cobia while the other half love the beef cheek.
Debate ensues at our table about tactics. Is getting the dessert course like drawing the short straw? Some people love dessert but others proclaim that they're "not dessert people". Does the main usually win?
During the lunch there is a raffle plus auction for 10 prizes with everything from a takeover of a restaurant for you and 9 other guests to the grand prize of a trip for two to London to dine at Brett Graham's The Ledbury. This prize has a reserve and it quickly climbs to $10k, then $11k. "Think of the children!" interjects Colin Fassnidge. The auctioneer calls "3, 2..." and then someone quickly bids $11.5k. It finishes on $12.5k and includes $4000 towards flights.
The next course comes out and it's aged duck breast with onion petals, fresh blackberry and Sarladaise potato pave (thinly sliced potato finished with garlic). By now we are trying to guess which chef has made what and my table mate Christine throws out the theory that Michael Robinson as the butcher is most likely to have made the beef cheek second course.
After this comes the final course, the dessert. It is an Altara Single Origin Chocolate Marquise with a choux crackling on top filled with chestnut and cassis. Even the non dessert people are enjoying this and suddenly some decide to change their favourite course.
After the raffle winners are revealed, it's time to reveal who made what. Each chef explains the dish that they made. The cobia dish was by Troy Rhoades-Brown, the beef cheek by Chris Thornton, the duck by Michael Robinson and the dessert by Tim Montgomery.
Counting the votes is taking a bit longer than usual as the voting is very close - they explain some years it is clear who the winner is but this year it is very close. And then they announce the winner: Tim Montgomery and his dessert. He explains that he was only assigned dessert because he was the last to answer the email so it was like he drew the short straw. For the dessert he enlisted the help of Crumb's pastry chef and owner Gareth Williams.
Along with the prizes for the chefs, four apprentices also win prizes of 5 bladerunner knives and a $1k dining voucher toward HCA restaurants so that they can explore and dine.
So what was the breakdown of votes like? Of the approximately 400 votes the first, second and third courses all got around 90 votes and the winning dish received 112. The word on the street is that it was the closest ever result and the general feeling was that it was the best menu all round.
So tell me Dear Reader, have you ever been to an event like this? Do you think you'd be able to guess the most popular dish?
NQN attended the Hunter Culinary Association Food Fight as their guest but all opinions remain her own.
Hunter Culinary Association Food Fight
www.hunterculinary.com.au/events
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