A GARDEN Route restaurant competition started nine years ago by the late ANC George councillor Ian Hadley in conjunction with the Cxpress community newspaper has been brought to new heights by his widow, Anne.

Anne Hadley took over the competition after her husband’s death in 2008.

The Cxpress/ Hoopenburg Garden Route Culinary Awards, held on Monday night in George, are now open to the 20 best restaurants, pubs, bistros and cafes on the Garden Route.

“Due to the enormous popularity of Ian’s alter-ego, Gastro Nomix, and the Top 10 Best Restaurant Awards, which started in 2001, we were only too happy for Anne to continue the awards with the new look,” said Cxpress editor Esther de Villiers. Anne Hadley, together with local celebrity chef Francois Ferreira, decided to include more categories of eateries and to rename the awards the Garden Route Culinary Awards.

“It is not just about a fine dining experience, it’s about good food and consistent service, and there are many different eateries, like coffee shops, bistros and pubs, that have now been included,” Hadley said.

She explained that teams of ghost diners, as well as she and Ferreira, judged every establishment seven times.

Ferreira explained: “Because of the economic situation, dining out has become a destination and so we also included the category best of ... service, value-for-money menu and wine list, bistro and cafe-style eateries, as well as the best hotel and resort restaurants, casual dining and the best contemporary South African cuisine.”

This year, Hadley introduced the Gastro Nomix Chef of the Year floating trophy, won by executive chef Dario Soresi, of La Laconda restaurant in George.

The restaurant also won awards for best-value-for-money wine list and the best contemporary SA cuisine.

“Dario and his team are an inspiration to us all – taking Italian cuisine and using local ingredients, which they continue tasting and tweaking until they are happy that they will suit South African tastes,” said Ferreira.

The Eden School of Culinary Art Young Chef of the Year Award went to Tanya Kruger, of Hunter’s Country House, outside Plettenberg Bay. The talented Kruger has been selected to represent South African chefs at the IKA Culinary Olympics in Germany in 2012.

She also won the 2008 national Chaine des Rôtisseurs Young Chef’s competition in 2008.

The Cxpress Special Achievement Award went to executive chef Liezel Stolze, of Serendipity, in Wilderness.

Stolze was voted one of South Africa’s top 10 young chefs by SA Tourism last year and her restaurant has consistently been in the Top 10 Garden Route Restaurants list since the award’s inception nine years ago.