Club Culinary Competition

Adelaide, chocolate from Victoria, and all the American imports a kid in a candy store dreams of.

Despite being a sweet-focused business, the proliferation of online food challenges involving spicy snacks has led Jennifer to diversify her supply into products attempting to innovate in the confectionery market.

“We’ve found that spicy has come around in recent years. So, there’s spicy Tarkis and that sort of thing, but there’s a Mexican range with sweet and spicy, so we have lollipops that are watermelon and mango with a chilli dipping powder.

As for why Jennifer chose Kiama to locate her business? She says the choice was easy.

“Spending the last 30 years in Sydney, I had always been coming to Kiama because I have a friend that lives nearby. I had left Sydney [after COVID lockdowns] and didn’t really want to go back into that space.

“I was really looking for that relaxed, beautiful town with good tourism and I don’t think you can get better than Kiama. It’s just a divine place to be.”

The Kiama Sweet Company is on Terralong Street, near the Collins Street roundabout.

By Brendon Foye

RECIPE BY: Courtney Roulston

SERVING SIZE: 2 – 4 people

INGREDIENTS:

1kg Coles fresh green/raw prawns (from the Deli)

• 600ml Cobram Estate olive oil to fry

• 1 egg white

• 1-2 cups potato starch

1 spring onion, thinly sliced

1 long red chilli, thinly sliced

1 small clove garlic, crushed

• Lemon cheeks to serve

• ½ bunch coriander leaves to serve

Celebrity chef Courtney Roulston made an exciting visit to Kiama Leagues Club in search of the best club meal in the State.

Courtney was treated to head chef Sarah Rebbeck’s slow cooked roasted lamb shank combined with a cauliflower puree, asparagus, jerusalem artichokes, jus and salsa verde.

It is part of Courtney and culinary icon Matt Moran’s tour across NSW for the Perfect Plate Awards, which are designed to showcase the quality and diversity of food on offer in clubs.

Courtney and Matt –ambassadors of the competition who both started their careers in clubs – will be sampling as many of the 160-plus competition dishes as possible.

“I want to see clubs utilise as much fresh, local produce as possible and plate up dishes that take them out of their comfort zone a little bit,” says Matt, who is excited to see what clubs submit.

“I know there is a plethora of talent in club kitchens and Perfect Plate is a fantastic way for chefs to demonstrate their skills and really impress the public.”

Courtney says club food has come a long way in the last 10 years.

“I think people are going to be blown away with the calibre of the dishes that clubs have entered in Perfect Plate this year,” she says.

The public are encouraged to take part in the annual awards by tasting their club’s Perfect Plate dish and rating it. Prizes are on offer for the two diners who vote for the most dishes.

The 13 clubs that receive the highest average score for their dishes based on patron ratings will be crowned the winner of their respective region, with three state-wide winners announced in small, medium and large club categories.

The ‘Your Local Club Perfect Plate Awards’ are now in their third year, with a tofu dish taking out the top spot in the state-wide large club category last year, challenging the notion of what many would consider a typical club meal.

Vote before 9 July via perfectplate.com.au.

By Cassandra Zaucer

SALT AND PEPPER SEASONING:

• 1 teaspoons sea salt

½ teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns

• ½ teaspoon white pepper

• ½ teaspoon ground ginger

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• ¼ teaspoon Chinese 5 spice

METHOD :

To make the salt and pepper seasoning, combine all the ingredients in a mortar and pestle, grind until a fine powder.

Remove the heads from the prawns and take out the intestine track.

Fill a large wok or pan 1/3 full with olive oil and heat to 170-180 degrees C.

Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks, then add the prawns to the egg. Using your hands, work the whites into all the prawns.

Gradually add in the potato starch, until the prawns look dry, shake off any excess flour and cook the prawns, in the hot oil. Using a slotted spoon, remove any small pieces of batter that rise to the surface. Cook the prawns in batches for 2 minutes, or until just cooked. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on kitchen paper to drain. Drain the oil from the pan, reserving 1 tablespoon of oil, Place pan back over a high heat. Add the spring onion, chilli and garlic, toss to combine, then add the prawns, sprinkling over a little of the seasoning as you toss.

Serve with fresh lemon wedges and coriander leaves.