A new list of top 12 finalists has been announced for the culinary competition, ‘Chef’s Table 2010 – awarding culinary innovation’. Unfortunately, due to unforseeen circumstances, Club Saphire Merimbula has had to pull out of the competition, giving the Epping Club the opportunity to compete as one of the 12 finalist teams. Chefs Table is created by ClubsNSW to award and recognise the many talented and creative chefs and cooks within clubs in New South Wales. The new list announced Monday 8 February is: FINALISTS Campbelltown Catholic Club - Cain Nightingale & Darren Neate / Canterbury League Club - Girolamo Battiato & Alex Wong / City Tattersalls Club (Team 1) - Kellie-Ann Travers & Elizabeth O'Brien / City Tattersalls Club (Team 2) - Andrew Dunn & Peter Edwards / Club Sapphire Tura - Stuart Walsh & Michael Pope / Commercial Club (Albury) - Ben Thornton & Mick Bath / Elanora Country Club - Paul Sanders & Christopher Devine / Mittagong RSL Club - Roland Nestler & Bradley Stokes / Mooney Mooney Club on the Hawkesbury - Michael Armstrong & Peter Clark / The Epping Club - Gina Lee & Amy Yelland / Tweed Heads Bowls Club - David Carolan & Jonathan Aussieker / Western Suburbs Leagues Club - Newcastle - Ben Collins & Matthew Houlison / The finals for Chef’s Table will take place on-site at each of the finalist clubs listed above between Monday, 8 February and Wednesday, 31 March 2010. Winners of the NSW Chef’s Table will be announced at the Awards for Excellence presentation and dinner on Friday, 4 June 2010. Tickets for the Awards for Excellence will be on sale from April 2010. EDITOR: Clubs NSW January 2010.

EASTS LEAGUES QLD WIN NATIONAL CHEFS TABLE 2009

At the National Chefs Table Awards in September 2009 at the Viking Club in Canberra, two very talented chefs Shannon Saint and Kate Cunningham from Easts Leagues won this prestigious gold medal. The win was the second major prize for the Club in two years, having also taken out the Queensland Club of the Year award in 2008. Not surprisingly, Easts was named the Club of the Year in part for its food which is a not so well kept secret in and around Brisbane. The pair from the Easts Leagues Club, and who are already crowned Queensland’s best chef pairing, narrowly defeated chefs Peter Edwards and Crystal Jones from Sydney’s City Tattersals Club, the later who managed to win the Best Food and Wine Match award for their Scallop and Semillon match. But it was the Queensland pair who had judges, lead by celebrity chef Peter Howard, shaking their heads in amazement at the creativity and taste of their 3 course offering. The pair’s winning menu offered a seafood tasting plate as a starter. It featured Spanna crab and pumpkin torte with a crisp seaweed salad and roasted capsicum hollandaise; pan-seared scallop placed on a cream corn puree with shellfish oil and finished with a sweet potato wafer and a crisp onion and charred salad; and, a Mooloolaba prawn cutlet with pancetta on a disc of rosti potato with a crunchy Asian flaw and gremolata. For the main course, veal tenderloin was served with foie gras on a tower of whipped potato, braised ox tail, and wilted spinach, finished with wild mushrooms and a Madeira glaze. Dessert was a white chocolate mousse infused with soft caramel on a vanilla shortbread and finished with dark chocolate and served with vanilla bean parfait, espresso foam, and toffee macadamia nuts. So popular is the Club that a regular week features everything from weddings to product launches, birthdays to seminars, and engagement parties to training sessions. Clubs Australia Chairman Peter Newell said club chefs winning major culinary awar

MOUNTIES WINS BEST LARGE CLUB OF THE YEAR 2009

MOUNTIES IS THE CLUB OF THE YEAR A club with more than 500 staff but where staff turnover is almost zero percent and virtually no one calls in sick to work, has won the Industry’s top award, the ClubsNSW Large Club of the Year. The Mounties Club, which is located on the border of Fairfield and Liverpool is no stranger to success, and has been winning national awards for a decade for its inventive and supportive HR strategies. Mounties spends an average of almost $4,000 on each of its staff each year, ensuring 100% of staff have some level of formal certification. Such is the popularity of the club that it takes on average just 4 days to fill vacant positions against an industry benchmark of 35 days. In addition to scoring the Large Club of the Year award, Mounties not surprisingly took home the Outstanding Human Resources Management Award and the Best ClubTAB award. Typical of Mounties’ commitment to high standard, the Club invested almost half a million dollars last year creating the state’s number one TAB facility. Featuring 23 screens, the ClubTAB is a wealth of information, and provided in plush surrounds that allow the punter to sit back and watch their favourite sports in complete comfort. CEO of ClubsNSW David Costello said the secret to Mounties’ success was their commit to excellence across all areas of business. “Mounties continue to raise the bar. They are both innovators and trendsetters in not just the hospitality industry but across many industries. I’ve lost count of how many national awards Mounties have won, the majority of them for their outstanding support of their staff". With more than 95,000 members, 30 sporting subclubs including rugby league, cricket, soccer, netball and golf and 5 holiday destinations for its members, perhaps it is no surprise so many people want to work at Mounties. A complete list of award winners can be found at www.clubsnsw.com.au

DEE WHY RSL - BEST CASUAL DINING & GAMING 2009

DEE WHY RSL WINS INDUSTRY AWARDS Dee Why RSL’s determination to maintain its previous level of support for community and sporting groups despite the Club Industry’s worst gaming year on record has helped win it the prestigious Outstanding Community Service title at the ClubsNSW Awards for Excellence ceremony. The Club has also collected the BEST CASUAL DINING VENUE award and BEST CLUB GAMING VENUE award announced on 5 June at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre Darling Harbour. The Club’s commitment ensured that $1.2m was donated to more than 100 local community organisations composed of social welfare services, community health and education, aged care services, adult education, at risk youth services, social groups, transport services, mental health services and counselling groups. During the past year Dee Why RSL has employed a Community Support Co-ordinator who acts as a middle person between local community groups and the community. This role has become the voice of the people at the Club, ensuring the needs and wants of local community groups are heard by Club staff and directors. CEO of ClubsNSW David Costello said Dee Why RSL has not only established itself as the premier club on the North Shore, but the equal of any club in the state. The Club is set to further community support with the opening next year of the largest childcare centre in Sydney. Flame Lounge and dining won the BEST CASUAL DINING award. Diners know live music ranging from a single pianist through to jazz and swing quartets will be on show seven days a week.

SYDNEY ROWING CLUB WINS BEST CLUB RESTAURANT 2009

A club whose past members include Banjo Patterson, Sir Edmund Barton and President of the Australian Olympic Committee John Coates, has been declared the best club in NSW for a meal. The Sydney Rowing Club on Friday evening 5 June, walked away with 3 major awards at the ClubsNSW Awards for Excellence including BEST CLUB RESTAURANT, BEST CASUAL DINING VENUE and BEST CLUB DEVELOPMENT. The 139 year old club, located on the Abbotsford Point overlooking Parramatta River, offers 240 degree water views considered by many as the most attractive anywhere in Sydney. Rebuilt less than 2 years ago, the Club’s decision to employ Dedes Bar and Grill has proved a masterstroke, with food and beverage accounting for double what the Club makes from its 38 poker machines. The Dedes Bar and Grill is operated by Con Dedes, who is well known for his 2 hat Flying Fish restaurant at Jones Bay in Sydney. Con actually got his first job courtesy of the club industry several decades ago and has ‘returned home’ by setting up the restaurant at the Sydney Rowing Club. CEO of ClubsNSW David Costello said the Sydney Rowing Club is now the benchmark for the industry as hundreds of clubs set about dramatically lifting the quality of their dining service to counteract the adverse effect of the indoor smoking ban. A complete list of award winners can be found at www.clubsnsw.com.au

ARMIDALE DOMINATES CLUB AWARDS

The Armidale City Bowling Club has proved the surprise packet of the night at the club industry’s annual Awards for Excellence 2009 ceremony. The Club took home 4 awards plus a runners’ up title, the most of any club at the gala night held at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre Darling Harbour on Friday 5 June. In addition to the prestigious Club of the Year title, the Club also won awards in the categories of Outstanding Club Governance & Innovation, Encouragement of Amateur Sport, Best Club Keno and received a Highly Commended for Outstanding Human Resource Management. The Club has become the sporting epicenter of the Northern Tablelands, now associated with 29 sporting groups as well as the Northern Academy of Sports. Such is its popularity that the Club last year had to apply to the Licensing Court of NSW to change its restricted areas after its lounge area was regularly overflowing with young sports people.

CANADA BAY MAKES CLUB HISTORY

The Canada Bay Club has capped a stellar past twelve months by taking out the Club of the Year title at the ClubsNSW Awards for Excellence 2009 at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre Darling Harbour on the 5th of June. It follows the nomination of CEO Maureen Heywood for the NSW Woman of the Year award in March. It’s been a rapid rise to the top for the club formerly known as the Western Suburbs Soccer Club, which last year won its first ever industry award. In addition to taking out the Club of the Year title, Canada Bay Club also won for Outstanding Financial Management and Best Club Keno.

CLUBS NSW 2009 AWARD-MURWILLUMBAH SCORES TOP MARKS

The Murwillumbah Services Club has proved last year’s multiple wins at ClubsNSW’s Awards for Excellence was no one-off, with the Club walking away with another 3 honours on Friday evening. The Club scored first place in the prestigious Outstanding Financial Management category as well as Outstanding Human Resource Management and Best Club Gaming Venue.

NOMINEES FOR THE 2009 CHEFS TABLE AWARDS!

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FOLLOWING NOMINEES WHO HAVE BEEN SELECTED FOR THE 2009 CHEFS TABLES AWARDS! Canterbury League Club - Glenn Miles & Girolamo Battiato / City Tattersalls Club (Team 2) - Peter Edwards & Crystal Jones / Club Taree (Team 1) - Kevin Williams & Lauren Gale Club Taree (Team 2) - Murray Phillips & Anthony Jenkins / Commercial Club (Albury) Ltd - Ben Thornton & Mick Bath / Eastern Suburbs Leagues Club - Peter Wood & Sean Ali / Elanora Country Club - Paul Sanders & Chris Devine / Manly Golf Club - Simon Quick & Anthony Holt / Penrith Rugby League Club - Lee Buckingham & Ariel Funes / Revesby Workers' - Club Ben Kirk & Daniella Digby / Toronto Workers Club - Peter Richards & Ross Fairleigh / Tweed Heads Bowls Club Jonathan Aussieker & Nicholas Drew /

RACV WINS NATIONAL CHEF COMPETITION

The RACV City Club in Melbourne has been recognized as the best dining experience of any club in Australia in the inaugural National Chefs Table competition. The Club, located on Bourke Street in Melbourne, outscored the premier chefs at clubs in the ACT (National Press Club of Australia), NSW (Elanora Country Club), Queensland (The Brisbane Club) and South Australia (Para Hills Community Club). The National Chefs Table competition requires chef pairings to produce a 3 course meal for twenty people using foods costing no more than $18 per person. The winning RACV City Club menu is: Entree Yellow fin tuna tartare aspic, truffle infused egg yolk, lotus root wafer, sesame foam Main Symphony of Lamb Noisette en crepinette, loin in puff pastry with foie gras, breaded bone marrow and sauce bordelaise Dessert Rosemary chocolate snap, hazelnut crackle and lemon curd pop Head judge Peter Howard said the winning 3 course meal was an incredible meal that featured all the elements of modern cooking with outstanding presentation and perfectly suited flavours. “The dining experience at the RACV City Club is a memorable one that compares with the finest European restaurants. “I was surprised by the quality of the meal and presentation. It was the stuff of culinary dreams, and one that shatters any preconception people may have of what is club food.” Clubs Australia Chairman Peter Newell said indoor smoking bans had served as motivation to clubs to improve the quality of the club dining experience. “Not a week goes by without someone telling me how surprised they are by the high quality of a recent meal at a club. “The National Chefs Table competition serves as an important reminder to the more than 12,000 chefs working in the 4,000 clubs across Australia that affordability need not be sacrificed in achieving a quality of meal that satisfies even the most delicate of palettes,” he said. 14/08/2008 www.clubsnsw.com.au