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Four top chefs go head-to-head in the Hunter Valley Food Fight this month

EAT OUT Erina Starkey - June 12, 2023

FOOD FIGHT!

The annual Hunter Valley Food Fight will return to the Crown Plaza on June 27.  Who will win? With top talent secured for both sides, it’s still too early to call.

The annual event sees two highly regarded chefs from the Hunter Valley take on two top names from outside the region in the ultimate culinary showdown of city versus country.

In the city corner, we have Jason Dean, Head Chef of O Bar & Dining and Sarah Knights, former Head Chef of Automata.

Over in the country corner, we have Jake Deluca, Head Chef at Flotilla in Newcastle, and Richmond Rodrigues, Head Chef at Muse in Pokolbin. Both restaurants were ranked 76th and 26th respectively in the delicious 100 in 2022.

The event has a long history of drawing top talent from across Australia, with Mitch Orr, Frank Fawkner, Joel Bickford and Alex Prichard taking part in previous years.

The day will kick off at 11am with entertainment and canapes, followed by a four-course meal, paired with Hunter Valley wines and beers. Each chef will prepare one course each, with diners voting on the winner at the conclusion of the lunch.

Last year’s event was a sell-out success and this year is expected to be the same. Hunter Culinary Chairman Gus Maher commented “Having sold out the event to 350 people in 2022, we’re again expecting a really strong response [this year]. It’s a super event for our region and the hospitality industry at large, bringing camaraderie and talent together in a way that makes us as an association so proud of what we do to promote and nurture young hospitality industry talent through our extensive suite of scholarships.”