WA's Signature Dish is lamb and lupins

Page last updated: Thursday, 5 June 2014 - 4:39pm

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WA's first Signature Dish was chosen on WA Day, Monday 2 June.

The winning dish was lamb cutlets with a lupin-based crust, accompanied by a sweet potato salad with Moroccan flavours.

This exciting competition, run by the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia through its Buy West Eat Best program aimed to highlight the top quality produce of many types available in Western Australia.

 

Finding WA's Signature Dish

Buy West Eat Best, the food labelling program that proudly supports the Western Australian food industry, launched a competition in March to find WA's Signature Dish.

It combined with four regional food councils and Celebrate WA to host cook-off events from late April. (The competition was open to amateurs who love food and cooking but not professional chefs or cooks.)

The four regional winners were each mentored by a leading chef in order to be in peak condition for the Grand Finale. This took place on WA Day, Monday 2 June, as a highlight of Celebrate WA’s 'Come out to Play' event at the WA Cultural Centre.

The finalists were:

  • Great Southern – Clare King with Celebration fillet of beef Thai-style
  • Southern Forests – Alana Starkie cooking Southern Forests marron with Pink Lady apple and avocado salsa
  • Gascoyne – Paul Kelly with a seafood tasting plate featuring Shark Bay snapper, prawns and crab sticks
  • Perth & Surrounds – Rhiannon Birch cooking Dorper lamb cutlets with a sweet potato and lupin salad.

The finalists cooked their dishes on stage before a live audience over an hour and a half before serving up for the three judges – restaurateur Guillaume Brahimi, Crown Casino's Ralf Vogt and restaurant critic Rob Broadfield.

Winning dish

In a close-fought contest the winner was the lamb cutlet dish with lupin crust created by Rhiannon Birch, a farmer's daughter from Coorow. She represented Perth & Surrounds, the region in which she is working.

But as Guillaume Brahimi commented, the real winner was the quality produce.

Lupins have been grown in Western Australia for many years, but have been mainly used as stock feed. They are now being promoted as a high fibre, high protein and gluten-free food option for humans consumption.

Winning dish of lamb cutlets crusted with lupin flakes and served with a Moroccan salad featuring sweet potato, beetroot, herbs and spices
WA's Signature Dish used Dorper lamb cutlets coated with lupin flakes served with a Moroccan salad featuring sweet potato, beetroot, herbs and spices

Go to the official WA Signature Dish website, or visit the Buy West Eat Best to learn more about the competition, which is expected to become an annual event.

 

Contact information

Buy West Eat Best