Vogue E+T Produce Awards celebrate Australia’s finest

Posted by Daniel Palmer on 20th May 2009

The winners of the 2009 Vogue Entertaining + Travel Produce Awards were announced last week, with Victoria’s Carla Meurs and Anne-Marie Monda taking out the top award for Producer of the Year. Their company, Holy Goat, was recognised for the third consecutive time in the dairy category at a presentation held at Justin North’s renowned restaurant, Etch by Bécasse.

The Vogue Entertaining + Travel Produce Awards were created to celebrate and uncover the best of Australia’s producers and suppliers, in categories including ‘from the paddock’, ‘from the dairy’, ‘from the earth’ and ‘from the sea’. Leading figures from the restaurant industry are chosen to decide the best produce in Australia, with the national judges this year coming from some of Australia’s best restaurants – Alla Wolf-Tasker from The Lake House in Victoria, Matt Moran from Sydney’s Aria, Cheong Liew from The Grange in SA and Philip Johnson of Brisbane’s E’cco Bistro*.

“The Awards are dedicated to discovering and celebrating the finest food growers and suppliers in the country. Whether you’re a three-hat chef, or someone who enjoys cooking at home, these are the producers and products you need to know about,” Trudi Jenkins, editor-in-chief of Vogue Entertaining + Travel, advised. “The Awards are not just a celebration of Australia’s fantastic produce; they acknowledge the people who are committed to quality and consistency in what they grow and make, and those who promote small producers through restaurants, providores and markets.”

“This year, the produce was of such a high standard that rather than presenting just one runner-up to each winner, we decided to add a new ‘gold medal’ category,” she added.

The complete list of winners and medallists were:

FROM THE DAIRY – HOLY GOAT LA LUNA, VIC
MEDALLISTS: Woodside Cheese Wrights (SA), Ballycroft Barossa Artisan Cheese (SA), Bruny Island Cheese Co (Tas), John Bignall Tasmanian Highland Cheese (Tas), Meredith Dairy (Vic).

FROM THE EARTH – DAYLESFORD ORGANICS HEIRLOOM VEGETABLES, VIC
MEDALLISTS: Cuttaway Creek raspberry vinegar (NSW), Darling Mills Farm herbs and salad leaves (NSW), Bunnyconnellen olive products (Qld), Bauer’s Organic Farm sweetcorn (Qld), The Australian Caper Company (SA), Joseph olive oil (SA), Ashbolt olive oil and elderberry products (Tas), Frogmore Creek garlic (Tas), Lentara Grove olive oil (Tas), Murray River Salt (Vic), Thorogoods Cider (SA).

FROM THE SEA – PRISTINE OYSTER FARM, SA AND SPANNER CRABS NOOSA, QLD (joint winners)
MEDALLISTS: Ferguson Australia lobster products (SA), Woodbridge Smokehouse Smoked Ocean Trout (Tas), Spring Bay Mussels (Tas).

FROM THE PADDOCK – WHITE ROCKS VEAL, WA
MEDALLISTS: Papanui eggs (NSW), Redgate Farm Jurassic Quail (NSW), Macleay Valley Rabbits (NSW), Mayura Station wagyu (SA), Pure Suffolk Lamb (SA), Daylesford Organics eggs (Vic), Sher Wagyu (Vic), Blackmore Wagyu (Vic), Glenloth Free Range squab (Vic), Castricum Brothers lamb (Vic), Green Eggs (Vic).

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR – HOLY GOAT, VIC

THE REGIONAL AWARD – DAYLESFORD MACEDON, VIC, AND ORANGE, NSW (Joint winners)

FOODHERITAGE/SUSTAINABILITY AWARD – SPRING BAY MUSSELS, TAS

BEST NEW PRODUCT – REDGATE FARM JURASSIC QUAIL, NSW

CONSISTENTLY EXCELLENT PRODUCT – BLACKMORE WAGYU, VIC

OUTSTANDING SUPPLIER – AUSTRALIA ON A PLATE, NSW

OUTSTANDING USE OF REGIONAL PRODUCE BY A CHEF – DAN HUNTER, ROYAL MAIL HOTEL, VIC

OUTSTANDING FARMERS’ MARKET – WILLUNGA, SA

THE MAGGIE BEER AWARD FOR AN OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO AUSTRALIAN FOOD – STEPHANIE ALEXANDER