Howlong Golf Resort’s own Beef and Guinness Pot Pie has claimed top honours in the Riverina and South Coast region at the 2025 Your Local Club Perfect Plate Awards beating regional rival SS&A Albury’s slow braised Moroccan lamb shoulder.
The public’s votes were counted and the five state-wide and 13 regional winners were announced at the Perfect Plate Awards Night held at the Western Sydney Convention Centre last week.
Howlong Golf Resort operations manager Alannah Cusack said the club was so proud of head chef Cassandra Weir- Smith again taking out the honour after claiming the award with a braised lamb shank dish last year.
Cassandra is in her third year as head chef at the Howlong Golf Resort after being lured from Brown Brothers.
“This is such a fantastic effort and the Howlong Golf Resort, our board, management and staff couldn’t be prouder,” Ms Cusack said.
“Cass has built a great reputation for food and experience at our club and to be awarded the best in the region speaks volumes of the tireless amount and work and passion she has in her role.
“It has been a pleasure to work with Cass and see her formally recognised for her efforts in front of the industry’s finest chefs.”
From Broken Hill to Bundeena, Mudgee to Murwillumbah, 200 eateries from 171 clubs right across NSW created special competition dishes for the 2025 Your Local Club Perfect Plate Awards, with members and patrons invited to score the meals out of five and cast their votes.
Over 98,300 Perfect Plate dishes were purchased by hungry diners, with the competition’s ambassadors, celebrity chefs Matt Moran and Courtney Roulston, and NRL legend Nathan Hindmarsh, visiting more than 60 participating clubs to meet the competing chefs and taste their creations.
“I opted to enter the Beef and Guinness Pie given the dish is quick and simple to create,” Ms Weir-Smith said.
“As I was the only chef at the time of entry into the competition, I wanted to ensure that in my absence with rostered days off that the dish served was consistently.
“I also considered that Beef and Guinness Pie was appealing to the season and our clientele.
“The dish was created solely for the Perfect Plate, however we will see it remain on the menu for the duration of winter.
“There is something hearty, nostalgic and soul warming about a good meat pie. I didn’t want to reinvent the wheel, but I wanted to create an experience for our diners.
“It is fantastic because it brought together rich, deep flavours that work perfectly together.”
The pie was filled with chunks of succulent melt in your mouth slow cooked premium scotch fillet from PFD, one of the club’s major sponsors, and fully enriched in a silky thick seasoned sauce with a distinctive Guinness backbone.
Clubs NSW chief executive Rebecca Riant said Perfect Plate, now in its fifth year, was an opportunity to shine the spotlight on the quality and diversity of club dining, and the dedicated chefs who work in the industry.
“From a Red Miso Glazed Snapper to a Beef and Guinness Pot Pie, this year’s winners are as varied as they are innovative, and they show that there really is something for everyone at your local club,” Ms Riant said.
“Congratulations to all of the 2025 Perfect Plate winners and thank you to the thousands of patrons who visited their local club to sample the incredible competition dishes on offer.”
A $100 dining voucher was given away every day of the competition, while the two diners who voted for the most Perfect Plate dishes will each win a ‘foodie getaway’ for two valued at $3,500.
The two winners will be announced later this month.
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