Culinary awards mark a shake-up in the region with new victors and notable departures

One of Australia’s most influential annual culinary awards have just been announced, and there’s been a shake-up in the Canberra, South Coast and Southern Highlands regions.

The Australian Good Food and Travel Guide (AGFG) has been ranking restaurants, accommodation, bars, wineries, and attractions since it published its first guide in 1979. Its well-known Chef’s Hat Awards were first issued to top-performing restaurants in 1982.

Not to be confused with the similar awards issued by The Sydney Morning Herald’s Good Food Guide, the introduction of the AGFG ranking system in Australia was inspired by France’s Michelin Guide and is designed, in its own words, to be an invaluable accomplice in the planning of the perfect trip away or simply the perfect evening.

The anonymous judging process issues Chef’s Hat awards and a score from 12 to 19 to venues deemed to be offering consistent culinary excellence across six key attributes relating solely to the food. Although the highest score is technically a 20, no-one has ever achieved this accolade and few have received a 19.

This year’s awards saw the highest achievement in Canberra being a score of 14, which was earned by six restaurants. A score of 14 denotes that the food is quite out of the ordinary and worth a stop on the way.

Four of this year’s recipients of 14 points held the same score in the previous season’s awards: Raku Dining, Les Bistronomes, The Boathouse and Otis Dining. Fine-dining venue Pilot moved up from a score of 13 to join this year’s top ACT winners, and the notable newcomer in this section was Pavilion Dining at Pialligo Estate, the well-known restaurant having been reinvigorated in mid-2024 by new operator Anthony Whitehouse of Create Catering and headed by the executive chef Stefano Mondonico.

Disappearing from this year’s list was the previous holder of 15 points and Canberra’s top-ranked restaurant of the 2024 season, Table by Canberra Gourmet, in Greenway. And Monster Kitchen and Bar dropped from 13 points to 12. Having famously added meat back to its temporarily vegan menu, there is no way to know whether judging took place before or after the bold menu change.

The Kingston foreshore nabbed two new placements in the rankings, with Turkish fine-dining restaurant Rakkas, opened in May 2024, and Molto Italian, operating since 2016, both landing 12 points.

The awards this year have been a stark reminder of the realities of the hospitality industry, with four of Canberra’s restaurants that took top places in the 2024 gongs having closed in the interim. These were the much-loved Temporada, which closed right around its 10th anniversary, and Alcove, Morks and Brunello.

In the broader Canberra region, taking in the Capital Country and the Southern Highlands, Eschalot in historic Berrima, Grazing in the nearby town of Gundaroo and Paste, a Thai restaurant in Mittagong, have all retained their rankings from the previous year. We also see the addition of Hordern’s Restaurant, in Bowral’s luxurious country hotel and spa, Milton Park.

The NSW South Coast may have seen the biggest shake-up from the previous awards season, with four of last year’s 12-point restaurants dropping off the list: celebrity chef Rick Stein’s restaurant in Mollymook, The Gunyah at glamping venue Paperbark Camp, GWYLO in Mollymook, and South on Albany in Berry.

The representation on the South Coast was further diminished by the closure of Queen Chow in Narooma.

Mimosa Wines and Restaurant in Bermagui, Valentina in Merimbula and The Milton Hotel in Milton held their respective rankings and were rejoined by The River Moruya, a French restaurant specialising in locally sourced ingredients. It opened in 2007 and made the list in 2022 and 2023 but not in 2024.

While awards are a popular part of the industry, they have been criticised by many top chefs, including former AGFG Restaurant of the Year winner Ben Shewry from Attica, who called the Australian awards system “incredibly problematic” in his recent memoir, Uses for Obsession. Having achieved career success on the back of these awards, he recognises that while they can bring fame for some, such as himself, on the other hand they destroy businesses and families.

The awards stand as a guide to quality but personal taste and preference should always be taken into account and there’s only one way to find out whether you agree with Australia’s faceless culinary judges, and that’s to get out there and try it for yourself.

The full Australian Good Food Guide winners can be viewed on the AGFG website.