The Australian Hotels Association South Australia, (AHA SA) has held its annual competition to find the state’s best pub burger.
Twelve finalists battled it out for this year’s title, and it was the Belgian Beer Café from the East End of Adelaide that came out on top. Chef Ryan Davey impressed the judges with his Black Angus Wagyu Burger, to claim the win.
Davey said: “I am very proud to win this award. I couldn’t have done it without my entire Belgian Beer Café team
“It was a case of using really high-quality ingredients. I cooked a fairly standard burger but it’s about taking normal ingredients and making them as good as they can be.
“I knew I wanted to be a chef when I was young. I got into kitchens at age 15. I saw how awesome the trainers were at trade school, pursued that, and have loved every minute of it.
“Being a chef is a job that requires passion. If you’re interested in the hospitality industry, leave nothing behind and go for it! It’s fun, you’ll meet so many people, and have a skill that can take you anywhere, including winning a fantastic burger challenge!” Ryan said.
AHA SA CEO, Anna Moeller, congratulated Ryan and the Belgian Beer Café on taking the best pub burger honours.
“The smells were amazing,” she said. “It was torture watching everyone compete and not being able to take a bite while they were cooking.”
“A huge thank you to all our sponsors for making this event possible, putting the best of South Australia’s hotels and their burgers well and truly on the map,” Moeller said.
This year’s competition received 40 entries from hotels across South Australia, with a blind tasting taking place earlier in July to determine the 12 grand finalists. The 11 other finalists in this year’s competition were: Arkaba, Globe Hotel Mount Gambier, Golden Grove Tavern, Maylands Hotel, Mount Gambier Hotel, Pier Hotel Glenelg, Seven Stars Hotel, Stamford Grand Adelaide, Strathmore Hotel, The Griffins Hotel, and Torrens Arms Hotel.
Burgers were judged against a list of criteria, including presentation of the chef, ingredients and burger, taste, meat content and value for money.