THE HUNT FOR THE BEST CLUB MEAL IN NSW IS BACK ON!
Voting has now opened for the 2025 Your Local Club Perfect Plate Awards, which showcase the incredible quality and diversity of food on offer in the state’s registered clubs.
As the competition’s ambassadors, Matt and Courtney — whose careers both started in clubs — along with Nathan, will be embarking on a road trip across NSW to meet club chefs, taste their creations and encourage the public to vote for their favourite dishes.
Entries this year include Coomealla Memorial Sporting Club’s Pork Belly Salad Braised in Ginger, Orange and Star Anise, with Crispy Popcorn Pork Crackle; Mollymook Golf Club’s Lemon Myrtle Baked Barramundi with Poached Scallops, Saffron Sauce and Rainbow Salad; and Ryde-Parramatta Golf Club’s 12-Hour Slow Cooked Red Wine Lamb Shank Wrapped in Crispy Puff Pastry with Truffle and Garlic Mash with Rosemary Oil.
Between 2 May and 15 June, patrons are encouraged to visit participating club eateries — of which there are 200 — to taste the Perfect Plate dish/es on offer and score them out of five by scanning each eatery’s unique QR code or filling out a simple paper voting form.
The 2025 competition sees the introduction of a brand-new category, Perfect Pizza, which has attracted sizzling entries including Bathurst RSL’s 18-Hour Slow Cooked Lamb Pizza and Panthers Penrith’s Mortadella & Burrata Pizza.
The new category adds to last year’s addition of Best Dessert, with sweet treats this year including Sharks at Kareela’s Dubai Chocolate Gelato, The Greens North Sydney’s Kinder Bueno Sundae and SS&A Albury’s Japanese Cotton Cheesecake.
ClubsNSW CEO Rebecca Riant said many of the state’s best restaurants are now found inside registered clubs and that this year’s competition will be hotly contested.
“Whether it’s dry aged steak, a hearty seafood risotto, a gourmet woodfired pizza or indulgences for those with a sweet tooth, clubs are renowned for the quality of their food at affordable prices, all served up in comfortable surrounds,” Ms Riant said.
While diners can only vote for each Perfect Plate dish once, they are encouraged to taste as many competition dishes at as many clubs as possible to boost their chances of winning a prize.
A $100 voucher will be drawn each day of the competition, and the two diners who vote for the most Perfect Plate dishes will win a ‘Foodie Escape’ for two valued at up to $3,500.
The NRMA has come on board as the presenting partner of the 2025 Your Local Club Perfect Plate Awards, with My NRMA members to receive 10 per cent cash back into their My NRMA app upon purchasing their first Perfect Plate dish, and two per cent cash back for purchases thereafter.
The 13 clubs that receive the highest average score for their dishes based on patron ratings will be crowned the winners of their respective regions. There will also be three state-wide winners announced in the small, medium and large club categories; as well as one state-wide winner in the Perfect Pizza category and one for Best Dessert.
“The sorts of dishes that I’m really hoping to see this year are just really good quality products, done very simply, obviously cooked to perfection — just put great food and great flavours on a plate,” said Perfect Plate ambassador Matt Moran.
Fellow ambassador Courtney Roulston said club chefs keep raising the bar each year when it comes to the quality of the competition dishes, with the Awards now in their fifth year.
“Last year the food was a step up from the year before and I have no doubt this year the clubs are really going to step it up again — you can get anything in clubs these days,” she said.
As a former NRL star who’s known to enjoy a good feed, Nathan Hindmarsh says he’s thrilled to once again travel across NSW to taste the variety of food on offer at registered clubs.
“The quality of club food continues to impress me every year — it’s a tough job having to sample this year’s competition dishes, but someone has to do it!” said Nathan.
Live Lobster with Salted Egg Yolk, King Prawn Ravioli and Sri Lankan Spiced Chicken Schnitzel were among last year’s winners, with Best Dessert awarded to The Ary Toukley for their Belgium Chocolate Fondant.
To find out more about the Your Local Club Perfect Plate Awards, including details about participating eateries and competition dishes visit perfectplate.com.au
