There is no argument with the nation’s café lovers! After a voting stage filled with determination, creativity, passion and competitive spirit from the competing cafés, tens of thousands of public votes were cast and the top 21 cafes have been decided from the 1,200 entries submitted.
Public voting is closed and now it’s time for the judges to make the final call as to who will be named the winner of the inaugural Australian Café of the Year award.
To come away with the title, café’s need to not only impress judges with their culinary skills but will also need to showcase an exceptional level of customer service as well as demonstrating a welcoming and vibrant ambience and outstanding overall experience.
Seven regional winners will be awarded the Australian Café of the Year region title plus a $1,000 cash prize, but only one will come away with the hotly contested inaugural title of ‘Australian Café of the Year 2014’. As well as bragging rights, the winner will be the proud owner of a Renault Clio, valued at over $32,000.
To participate in the competition, cafés were asked to create a creative and mouth-watering dish that was to be featured on their menu and available to their customers throughout the voting stage, featuring ingredients from the Heinz and Don ranges.
“We are now into the home stretch and are excited to have such a high calibre of establishments in the finals from Darwin all the way down to Launceston fighting it out for the title”, said Andrew Nalder, Australian Café of the Year spokesperson.
Following two successful years in New Zealand, the Café of the Year concept has branched out to offer Australian café’s a chance to flaunt their culinary skills and friendly service they are so famously known for and to demonstrate why Australia is home to the best café culture in the world.
“National trends show that the percentage of customers visiting a café is growing rapidly, increasing 25% over the past five years. Our Aussie cafes are leaders in design and service, with improvements continuously underway to match our customer’s heightened expectations and a competition such as Australian Café of the Year gives businesses a chance to showcase this”, said industry expert, Sean Edwards.
Will your favourite café take home the bragging rights and inaugural title of Australian Café of the Year?
*Further information available at www.cafeoftheyear.com.au
SOUTH AUSTRALIAN FINALISTS:
XPress-O on Flinders Street (ADELAIDE) – Champion Breakfast
Vanilla Bean (MOUNT GAMBIER) – Breakfast Egg Crepe
Bocelli Caffe Ristorante (ADELAIDE) – Gnocchi Gratinati
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