2006 Good Food Guide Awards

So the chefs hats are out, err on, and there aren't a huge number of surprises this year on the lists. The angle the SMH is playing is that of Chui Lee Luk of Claude's in Woollahra becoming "the first female chef in more than a decade to secure the much coveted three hat rating," which masks the fact that generally it was a slow news year. (Rockpool has been up and down hats since we arrived here, so it's dropping to two hardly counts as news)

As we alluded to yesterday, Est won the much coveted Restaurant of the Year honor and Mark Best walked away with the Heavyweight Champion of the Chefing World title (very deserved in our humble opinions).

The hats fell this way:
Three Hats went to: Claude's, Est, Guillaume, Marque, Quay and Tet's

Two flew to: Aria, Balzac, Bilson's, Bistro Moncur, Buon Ricordo, Icebergs, Longrain, Lucio's, Omega, Pello, Pier, Pilu, Rockpool, Sean's Panorama, Yoshii

and rolling in with one were: Bather's Pavillion, Bistro LuLu, Bistro Moore, Catalina, Fish Face, Flying Fish, Forty One, Galileo, Golden Century, Grand National, Hugo's, Il Piave, Lotus, Manta, Milsons, Otto, Perama, Post, Restaurant Atelier, Restaurante Riva, Sea Treasure, sushi e, The Three Weeds, The Wharf, Yings

Are we surprised? Are you asking yourself where Sailor's Thai, Aqua Dining, or Zenith have gone? Are you frantically re-reading to see if you missed Three Clicks West or Liquidity? We didn't think so.

(for your reference)

Comments

[jerome rounds]

Please...please: Aria is rapidly falling from culinary grace with declining food quality and faulty service. Can high level cuisine and service be maintained while Aria loses staff due to an agressive impolite chef owner on a mission of self aggrandizement? Some of my favorite people have left and the effect has been felt.

[Sean]

Hi Jerome,

I must confess that we've only been to Aria once and weren't impressed enough to go back.

We've also always felt rubbed a bit wrong by Matt Moran, but that is based on his "TV persona" and we were willing to give him some benefit of doubt because our baker swears he's a great bloke.

You however sound like you know different and we are all ears???

Cheers,
Sean

[santos.]

what, pray tell, is that happy fun ball suspended in aspic and surrounded by violet (lavender?) ice?

[Sean]

It's teh champagne parfait at Claude's (2nd last course on the degustation) it's some sort of foie gras pate suspended in champagne jelly...the little bursts around the outside were fruity jello-esque goodness

[Steph]

I am inclined to agree with the comments - my experience at ARIA was average but I will go back and give it another go. That said, I attended one of the Sydney Seafood School's cooking classes with Matt Moran and was pleasantly surprised - he was great fun, very personable and even joined us for the meal afterwards & a drink.