Four of Newcastle and the Hunter Valley's top chefs squared off in a battle of the culinary arts on Tuesday afternoon, setting their unique styles against each other in a four-course blind lunch to see whether the city or the valley could lay claim to the region's best.
The 13th annual Hunter Culinary Association's 'Food Fight' was hosted at Rydges in the Hunter Valley on June 25 in a packed room of industry representatives, who were served a four-course degustation paired with the region's renowned wines.
Sam Alexander from Yellow Billy, Mitchell Beswick from Muse, Nicolas Pedemonte from Ape Yakitori Bar and Matthew Smith from Crystalbrook Kingsley each presented a dish for the feast. The competition was fierce, with the near 350 guests casting their votes to determine the winner of this culinary showdown.
After a suite of canapes prepared by apprentice chefs, the first course of smoked beetroots on a bed of whipped ricotta, topped with sumac pickled onions, pomegranate molasses and dukkah, paired with First Creek's 2024 rose, set what would be an unbeatable bar.
Chef Sam Alexander, a culinary prodigy who honed his skills at Bistro Molines and worked under the tutelage of Jeremy and Jane Strode in Sydney, emerged as the day's victor. The win was a testament to his exceptional culinary talent and the high standard of the competition.
The Yellow Billy chef, who is known for cooking over an open flame, said during the event that he learned something from each new fire.
"Every time you light the fire, you learn something new, and carry that on to the fire tomorrow," he said.
The event, including a charity auction and $2000 scholarships for four young apprentices - $1000 worth of chef knives and another $1000 in dining vouchers - has run annually for more than a decade. In his opening message, Hunter Culinary Association chairman Gus Maher said the organisation's signature event brought the industry together in its common cause.
