Food & Dining

Tue Aug 20

The winners of the 2019 delicious. Harvey Norman Produce Awards

Written by Media Release

the country’s most prestigious food industry event, were announced overnight at a gala ceremony at the State Theatre in Sydney.

Some of Australia’s most renowned chefs and food industry leaders joined the delicious. team and finalists at the annual awards ceremony. Now in its 14th year, the delicious. Harvey Norman Produce Awards celebrate the country’s new, innovative, native and consistently outstanding Australian ingredients grown, caught, sourced or produced with dedication, passion, knowledge and regard for the environment.

delicious. editor-in-chief Kerrie McCallum said:

“The delicious. Harvey Norman Produce Awards not only influence what you may see on restaurant menus for the next year to come, but most importantly give credit to the people who care for the produce that lands on our plates. It has never been more important to get behind our farmers and small producers. They need our help. I thank all of the judges for the time and passion they give to these awards, and congratulations to this year’s winners.”

Seventeen awards, 16 trophies, and 30 gold medals were presented, with each of the winners across the four major categories (From the Dairy, From the Earth, From the Paddock and From the Sea) decided by the National Judging Panel, and considered for the overall Producer of the Year Award presented by Harvey Norman, which was last night awarded to Bruce Collis for his Seasonal Wild Caught Fish (VIC).

Harvey Norman executive chairman Gerry Harvey said:

“Congratulations to all the winners of the delicious. Harvey Norman Produce Awards. Luckily I didn’t have to be on the judging panel. It would be almost impossible to determine whose produce is the best - the standard and quality of the finalists’ produce is extraordinary.

“Tonight we applaud the winners – you are truly the best of the best, but tomorrow we need to turn our applause into action. We need to buy from these wonderful producers and all the finalists. Do our homework; who do they supply and where are they stocked? We need to build their market – it will not only raise the standard of the food served on our kitchen and restaurant tables, it will improve our health. It is that important.”

“Fresh produce is everything – if it is locally grown, even better. Our quality of life depends on the skill and experience of our producers – without them our markets, restaurants, supermarkets and kitchen tables are empty.

“Our Harvey Norman partnership with the delicious. Produce Awards is a wonderful opportunity for us to celebrate those who make food and cooking possible. Top-quality produce provides nutrition as well as the pleasure of cooking for family and friends. However, the contribution of our producers runs deeper – farmers and their produce create jobs in the journey from paddock to plate and improve our community health standards.

“Our economy and Australian way of life depends on the extraordinary contribution of our producers.”

A series of special awards are presented by a panel of expert critics. These awards included: Best New Product (awarded to Tuerong Farm Premium Stoneground Flour VIC), Outstanding Native Producer (awarded to Clarence Slockee & Christian Hampson, Yerrabingin NSW), Unearthed Next-Gen Chef (awarded to Alanna Sapwell of ARC Dining QLD) and Outstanding Region presented by Huon Salmon (awarded to Scenic Rim QLD).

New to the awards in 2019 is Outstanding Viticulturist, won by Melissa Brown of Gemtree Wines SA, and a special award that reiterates the importance of supporting Australian farmers, Outstanding Innovation, Sustainability & Community presented by Thankful was won by Charlie Arnott.

The third annual Alla Wolf-Tasker Good Food Matters Scholarship – which may be used for educational travel, ‘staging’ with other practitioners, and relevant educational courses and workshops or similar – was awarded to The Oyster Province TAS.

The delicious. Harvey Norman Produce Awards not only champion the best Australian produce, but, importantly the people behind it, thanks to a passionate network of food industry experts who nominate outstanding produce and producers from all over Australia, and the insight of the National Judging Panel (pictured below, from left: Andrew McConnell, Guillaume Brahimi, Peter Gilmore, Christine Manfield, Alla Wolf-Tasker, Matt Moran, Neil Perry, Maggie Beer, Shannon Bennett and Colin Fassnidge) and critics panel.

delicious. Harvey Norman Produce Awards National Judge Neil Perry said:

“It was an honour to be a part of the delicious. Harvey Norman Produce Awards National Judging Panel. The calibre of produce this year was nothing short of incredible, making the task of judging especially difficult. It is always wonderful to see innovative producers dedicated to creating outstanding produce that is not only world-class but sustainable on the environment from which it grows and depends. Congratulations to all the winners and gold medallists.”

The 2019 delicious. Harvey Norman Produce Awards VIP event was hosted by delicious. senior editor Matt Preston, and guests were treated to a bespoke menu created by the joint culinary excellence of five of QT Hotel’s renowned executive chefs. In a first-of-its-kind collaboration, the menu was designed and curated by QT Sydney executive chef, Michael Box, and inspired by 2019 winners’ and gold medallists’ produce. The Dairy station was prepared by QT Melbourne’s Andy Harmer, Earth prepared by QT Perth’s Nic Wood, Paddock prepared by QT Canberra’s Josh Smith-Thirkell and Sea prepared by QT Gold Coast’s Adam Lane. Guests enjoyed wines from Qantas Wine and Four Pillars cocktails. National Judges and VIP guests stayed at QT Sydney.

The full list of winners and gold medallists is presented in the September 2019 issue of delicious. on sale Thursday, August 22 and on delicious.com.au.

2019 DELICIOUS. PRODUCE AWARDS NATIONAL
JUDGING PANEL
Maggie Beer, Patron
Matt Moran, Ambassador
Guillaume Brahimi
Peter Gilmore
Christine Manfield
Alla Wolf-Tasker
Shannon Bennett
Andrew McConnell
Colin Fassnidge
Neil Perry

WITH ASSISTANCE FROM THE CRITICS PANEL FOR THE
NON-PRODUCE-BASED CATEGORY AWARDS:
Anthony Huckstep
John Lethlean
Matt Preston
Mike Bennie
Anooska Tucker-Evans
Dan Stock
Kylie Kwong
Ross & Sunny Lusted
Jane Adams
Simon Wilkinson

DELICIOUS . HARVEY NORMAN PRODUCE AWARDS 2019 GOLD MEDALLISTS AND TROPHY WINNERS

FROM THE DAIRY – TROPHY WINNER
• Pecora Dairy Raw Milk Feta NSW

FROM THE DAIRY – GOLD MEDALLISTS
• Bruny Island Cheese Co. Raw Milk c2 TAS
• Burraduc Farm DolceNina Fresh Buffalo Curd NSW
• Elgaar Farm Fresh Organic Milk TAS
• L’Artisan Cheese Marcel VIC
• Mungalli Creek Pot Set Bio-dynamic Natural Yoghurt QLD
• Prom Country Cheese Venus Blue VIC

FROM THE EARTH – TROPHY WINNER
• Spurrell Foraging Native & Seasonal Edible Plants VIC

FROM THE EARTH – GOLD MEDALLISTS
• Malfroy’s Gold Blue Mountains World Heritage Post Brood
Polyflora Wild Honey NSW
• Moonacres Farm Seasonal Fresh Produce (Selection of Best
in Field) NSW
• Mushroom Forestry Shiitake Mushrooms VIC
• Newcastle Greens Calvin Lamborn Snap Green Varietals
NSW
• Ngeringa Produce Biodynamic Salad Greens SA
• Tuerong Farm Premium Stoneground Flour VIC

FROM THE PADDOCK – TROPHY WINNER
• Eugowra Game Birds Pastured Quail NSW

FROM THE PADDOCK – GOLD MEDALLISTS
• Brooklands Free Range Farms 100% Grass Fed British
White Beef VIC
• Grassland Poultry Sommerlad Chicken NSW
• Mayura Station Full-blood Wagyu Beef SA
• Saskia Beer Farm Produce Chicken SA
• Sher Wagyu F1 Black Label Ribeye VIC
• Taluca Park Pasture Raised Rare Breed Pork NSW
• The Farm House Margaret River Arkady Lamb WA
• Torello Veal Rosé Veal NSW

FROM THE SEA – TROPHY WINNER
• Chris Bolton Fishing Wild Red Emperor QLD

FROM THE SEA – GOLD MEDALLISTS
• Bruce Collis Seasonal Wild Caught Fish VIC
• Collison Reef Fish Coral Trout QLD
• Fraser Isle Spanner Crab QLD
• Murray Gold Australia Murray Gold Cod NSW
• Rocky Point Aquaculture Giant Grouper QLD
• Tathra Oysters Nelson Lake 5 Year Old Sydney Rock
Oysters NSW
• The Oyster Province Native Wild Angasi Oysters TAS
• Two Gulfs Crab Blue Swimmer Crab SA
• Walker Seafoods Australia MSC Certified Swordfish QLD
• Wapengo Rocks Wild Organic Rock Oysters NSW

BEST NEW PRODUCT
• Tuerong Farm Premium Stoneground Flour VIC

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR
PRESENTED BY HARVEY NORMAN
• Bruce Collis Seasonal Wild Caught Fish VIC

IN THE BOTTLE
PRESENTED BY QANTAS WINE
• Hartshorn Sheep Whey Vodka TAS

OUTSTANDING VITICULTURIST
• Melissa Brown Gemtree Wines SA

OUTSTANDING FARMERS’ MARKET – FINALISTS
• Margaret River Farmers’ Market WA
• Mullumbimby Farmers’ Market NSW
• Willunga Farmers Market SA

OUTSTANDING FARMERS’ MARKET – TROPHY
WINNER
• Willunga Farmers Market SA

OUTSTANDING DESIGN
PRESENTED BY QT HOTELS & RESORTS
• Tracey Deep Floral Sculpture Artist

OUTSTANDING REGION
PRESENTED BY HUON SALMON
• Scenic Rim QLD

OUTSTANDING INNOVATION, SUSTAINABILITY
& COMMUNITY PRESENTED BY THANKFUL
• Charlie Arnott

UNEARTHED NEXT-GEN CHEF
• Alanna Sapwell ARC Dining QLD

OUTSTANDING NATIVE PRODUCER
• Clarence Slockee & Christian Hampson, Yerrabingin NSW

OUTSTANDING ARTISAN
• Leo Gelsomino Lello Pasta Bar VIC

THE ALLA WOLF-TASKER GOOD FOOD MATTERS
SCHOLARSHIP
• The Oyster Province TAS

MAGGIE BEER AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING
CONTRIBUTION TO AUSTRALIAN FOOD
• Joost Bakker