The Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Awards will return in 2021 with presenting sponsor, award-winning winery Levantine Hill, and supporting partners, Visit Victoria, Longines, Waterford, Sub Zero & Wolf and PorkStar.
After a hiatus last year the awards – including the prestigious Restaurant of the Year – will be revealed at a glittering awards dinner on October 27 at Gimlet at Cavendish House in Melbourne.
With support from Visit Victoria, the event will be held in Melbourne for the first time in 10 years to celebrate the city’s resilient and world-class hospitality industry. Often regarded as Australia’s culinary capital, the city is emerging from a challenging year and is once again, ready to serve.
The winners, along with Australia’s top 80 restaurants will be profiled in a special celebration issue of Gourmet Traveller, on sale October 28.
Gourmet Traveller editor Joanna Hunkin added: “The challenges of the past 18 months have created seismic change within the industry, making this year’s awards more significant than ever. It will be a night of genuine celebration and one we are thrilled to share with the Melbourne industry, as it continues its recovery. I also want to thank all our partners for their support in helping bring back this year’s awards after a break in 2020.”
Previous years have seen acclaimed fine-diners such as Attica, Quay and Orana claim the Restaurant of the Year prize, as the awards continue to serve as a timeline of contemporary Australian food trends.
Awards will be presented to the best new restaurant, best wine bar, best new talent, restaurant personality of the year as well as the ultimate accolade in Australian dining, Restaurant of the Year.
To support the tourism sector, there will also be a best destination dining award.
This year’s awards also see the return of the peer-voted Chef of the Year prize, which will recognise a single chef for their contribution to Australian dining.
Winners will be revealed at a gala dinner attended by the who’s who of the food and wine industry at Melbourne’s Gimlet at Cavendish house, where chef Andrew McConnell will create a bespoke menu for the night paired with wines by Victorian winery Levantine Hill.
Finalists will be announced in the October issue of Gourmet Traveller, on sale September 27
