Economic pressures and cost-of-living concerns have brought renewed interest to one particular category at the 2024 AHA NSW Awards for Excellence, with more than 35 pubs putting themselves forward for the Cheap Eat Meal Under $20 award.
Judges were pleased with the level of interest in the category, narrowing the competition down to just 15 finalists, and according to AHA NSW CEO John Whelan, the keen uptake is an indication that pubs are responding to the needs of patrons struggling with cost-of-living pressures.
“These pub meals under $20 are great value – and it’s fantastic more than 35 pubs nominated their quality cheap eats meals for the AHA NSW Awards this year. Today, every dollar counts, and NSW pubs are working hard to produce restaurant quality meals for those on a tight budget,” he stated.
The 15 finalists are:
- Australian Hotel and Brewery, Rouse Hill
- Bellbird Hotel, Bellbird
- Bradford Hotel, Rutherford
- Bushrangers Bar and Brasserie, Largs
- Carousel Inn, Rooty Hill
- Clarendon Tavern, Clarendon
- Crown Hotel, Grafton
- Deepwater Hotel, Deepwater
- Five Islands Hotel, Cringila
- Great Northern Hotel, Teralba
- Imperial Hotel Coonabarabran, Coonabarabran
- Rutherford Hotel, Rutherford
- Shortland Hotel, Shortland
- Tahmoor Inn, Tahmoor
- The Coopers Hotel, Newtown
Ahead of the gala ceremony set to take place at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney on Tuesday 29 October, culinary judges will tour the state, blind-tasting the finalists meals against specific criteria to determine the winner.