A Fair Cop in Steak Stakes (video)

By Andrew Starke

The Police Club did South Australia proud as the venue beat the competition to be crowned Pepperjack National Steak Champion for 2010.

Sydney butchery Victor Churchill played host to the event which saw the Adelaide Police Club emerging victorious following a grueling cook-off before a discerning crowd of steak lovers.

More than 680 participating venues across Australia were whittled down to just three final contenders for the title of Australia’s best steak venue, with the winners edging out La Piazza Allegra (Elsternwick, VIC) and The Great Northern Hotel (Carlton North, VIC) for the title.

Judges Adrian Richardson, (Pepperjack Battle of the Steaks Ambassador, chef at La Luna Bistro and the author of MEAT cookbook), self-confessed steak aficionado Mark Beretta from Channel 7’s Sunrise, Pepperjack winemaker Richard Mattner and Victor Churchill owner, Anthony Puharich all agreed that The Police Club’s steak reigned supreme on the night.

Over the past few weeks, participating venues have grilled, roasted and braised thousands of juicy T-bones, succulent sirloins and tasty eye fillets to perfectly accompany a glass of Pepperjack Barossa Shiraz or Cabernet.

This is the second year that Pepperjack Battle of the Steaks has been conducted and the event attracted twice the number of venues from last year.

Richardson acknowledged the efforts of the three final contenders as individual national category winners across pubs, clubs and restaurants.

“The competition was fierce last night but Greg McKeever from the Police Club really impressed with a perfectly cooked steak that was a high quality cut of meat and a simple but delicious recipe that really matched well with the berry and dark chocolate flavours of the Pepperjack Shiraz,” he said.

As part of the public voting criteria, Pepperjack developed a national ‘knife’ ranking system rating the grade and quality of each participating venue’s steak.

The Police Club has been awarded $20,000 and the prestige of being Australia’s National Steak Champion for 2010 with a coveted Gold Knife rating.

For full details on knife ranking system and Pepperjack Battle of the Steaks, click here.

Pepperjack Battle of the Steaks Knife Ranking System:

• 1 Knife – State Finalists (very well done)
• 2 Knife – State Champions ( a cut above the rest )
• 3 Knife – National Champions ( a rare find)
• Gold Knife – Pepperjack National Steak Champion (steak Knighthood)

Click on the video below to watch some interviews conducted on the night.