More than 20 Hunter pubs have been nominated as finalists in the prestigious 2018 Australian Hotels Association NSW Awards for Excellence.
The nominations span a variety of categories including Hotel of the Year - Country, Chef of the Year - Country, Best Bush Pub, Best Traditional Hotel Bar – Country, Best Draught Beer Quality, Best Wine List, Best Family Friendly and more...
The Australian Hotels Association NSW Awards for Excellence are recognised as the most prestigious awards programme in the hospitality industry.
The awards honour the achievement of excellence in NSW hotels across a variety of categories and reflect the best in the nation with numerous winners going on to claim the national title in their category.
Hunter venues dominated the Best Traditional Hotel Bar – Country category with eight of the 12 finalists located in Newcastle and the Maitland area.
“Our local pubs and venues are some of the best in NSW and it’s fantastic to see that being recognised by our industry,” Australian Hotels Association Newcastle Hunter President Rolly de With said.
“Here in Newcastle and the Hunter we have an incredibly high standard when it comes to food, entertainment and family-friendly environments on offer at our venues. To see more than 20 of our hotels recognised for their efforts and across so many categories is terrific.”
The recently refurbished Shoal Bay Country Club dominated the list of finalists, nominated in at least nine categories including Best Family Friendly, Best Outdoor Experience, Best New/Total Redeveloped Hotel – Country, Best Casual Dining Venue - Country Northern, Best Live Music Venue, Best Sports Bar, , Best Pub TAB – Country, Hotel of the Year – Country.
The recently refurbished Shoal Bay Country Club dominated the list of finalists, nominated in at least nine categories...
Food also rated high on the list, with six local chefs nominated for the prestigious Chef of The Year – Country award including, Commonwealth Hotel’s Aaron House and Phil Pearce, Northern Star Hotel’s Robert Dickson, Windsor Castle Hotel’s Ryan Clark and The Lucky’s Wayne Brogan.
Commonwealth Hotel Chefs Aaron House and Phil Pearce are both nominated for Chef of the Year- Country
The Cambridge Hotel and Shoal Bay Country Club received nominations in the Best Live Music Venue category, while The George Tavern Lucky Hotel, Thoroughbred Hotel, and Windsor Castle are in the running for Best Burger.
Winners will be announced at a presentation ceremony on Tuesday, 20 November at The Star Event Centre, Sydney.
For a full list of finalists go to www.ahansw.com.au