Lucas Restaurants’ opulent ode to French cuisine, an exercise in Iberian excellence that takes the hotel restaurant to the next level, a shining star from Melbourne’s new wave of Greek restaurants, and a beloved culinary educator. These are your Victorian winners for the Gourmet Traveller Annual Restaurant Awards.
Chris Lucas’s all-out, three-level Parisian labyrinth Maison Bâtard continues to go big, taking out the gong for the country’s Best New Restaurant – not least for providing the city with its signature Melbourne take on French fare, but perhaps for Australia’s fanciest roast chicken, too.
Tony Tan, meanwhile, has many notches to his belt: chef, author, educator, TV host and food historian to name just some. So it’s no surprise his contributions to Australia’s culinary landscape have been honoured with Gourmet Traveller’s Outstanding Contribution to Hospitality award. Tan’s decades-long career spans across award-winning cookbooks to his recently launched hot-ticket cooking class in Trentham.
The groundswell continues for Melbourne’s new wave of Greek restaurants, too, as well as for the passionate people behind them. Angie Giannakodakis’s Taverna has been around for less than a year, but her longstanding commitment to bringing casual Athenian cuisine to Melbourne is just one reason she has taken out the Restaurant Personality of the Year award.
Marmelo, Ross and Sunny Lusted’s Portuguese-inspired fine diner, also scores a mention as the state winner for this year through taking the concept of a hotel restaurant to new heights in Melbourne.
Read more on Maison Bâtard, Tony Tan, Angie Giannakodakis, Marmelo, as well as the other winners from across the country at Gourmet Traveller.