Business
27 February, 2024
Reef House takes top gong
WITH their high-quality service and innovative take on seafood and fresh produce, the Reef House Palm Cove enchanted the hearts of judges throughout 2023 and earned their third win as restaurant of the year at the Chefs of North Queensland awards.
Beating seven of Cairns’ most iconic restaurants like C’est Bon, Ochre and Dundee’s on the Waterfront for the crown, Reef House Palm Cove has proved that third time is the charm, becoming restaurant of the year for the third time in four years at a ceremony award held at TAFE on February 12.
The Backyard on Marlin Marina was second, while Tropics at the TAFE took third place.
Reef House head chef Ondrej Urbanovsky said it was an honour to be recognised again as restaurant of the year.
“This means a lot to me because I’m a very competitive person, so to have won this award three times in the last four years is a great feeling,” he said
“I’m also working with a great team and that makes us better. In April we’ll be preparing the new menu for the 2024 competition.
“I really enjoy working with seafood and I can say it’s my strength and I displayed that in the competition. We use local ingredients, fresh ingredients and we’re a very passionate team that works very hard. We’ve learned from each other and grown as a team which gave us an advantage in the competition.”
Chefs of North Queensland awards organiser Lisa Ganter said it was a tough competition, but Reef House had really elevated their cuisine in 2023.
“We always have a tight competition amongst restaurants like C’est Bon and Ochre and the Reef House has been a frontrunner several times but I think their overall service really won over the tasters,” she said.
“We held eight luncheons this year where the eight participant restaurants would bring their own menus and the tasters would judge and at the end of the year we gather that information to crown a winner.
“Reef House always has amazing food and presentation with great quality and all restaurants bring their best and try to excel but I believe the overall service is what gave Reef House the advantage.”
