Hotel SA August 2023
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B E S T B U R G E R<br />
Winning burger by Griffins <strong>Hotel</strong><br />
Chef, Luke Brabi.<br />
A tinge of nostalgia<br />
for <strong>SA</strong>’s Best Burger<br />
SPONSORED BY: Thomas Foods Australia<br />
TYLER MAUND<br />
Sitting in the backseat of his parents’<br />
‘car, stuffing a handful of French<br />
fries between the pattie and bun<br />
of a delicious burger, is a vivid<br />
memory for Griffins <strong>Hotel</strong> Chef Luke<br />
Brabin, the winner of <strong>SA</strong>’s Best Pub<br />
Burger <strong>2023</strong>.<br />
“It’s a bit of nostalgia from what you<br />
remember of your childhood,” said<br />
Luke, who began at the Griffins <strong>Hotel</strong><br />
in February this year.<br />
“I grew up getting cheeseburgers<br />
and chucking the chips in, this<br />
burger is a play on that and it gives<br />
you that texture.”<br />
Crispy French fries were just one<br />
of several crucial ingredients that<br />
elevated Luke’s burger over his<br />
competitor’s, as twelve finalists from<br />
<strong>SA</strong>’s best hotels had their burgers<br />
judged by an expert three-person<br />
panel on July 18.<br />
<strong>2023</strong> marked the 15th annual<br />
running of the AHA|<strong>SA</strong> Pub Burger<br />
Challenge, featuring 40 entries from<br />
across South Australia.<br />
The burgers were critiqued against<br />
a range of criteria, including<br />
presentation, ingredients, taste,<br />
meat content and value for money.<br />
Although confident he had a burger<br />
that could get tongues wagging,<br />
being officially labelled as South<br />
Australia’s best was satisfying for<br />
Luke, especially when directly pitted<br />
against other exceptional chefs.<br />
“It always feels rewarding when<br />
there are quite a few entries and<br />
competition,” he said.<br />
“I know the products that we are<br />
using are top notch, they speak<br />
for themselves.<br />
“Chefs are chefs, but we are nothing<br />
without the produce to be honest.”<br />
WINNING INGREDIENTS<br />
Luke’s winning creation this year<br />
was a mouth-watering wagyu beef<br />
burger, featuring Mayura station<br />
wagyu beef, smoked barossa bacon,<br />
ketchup, chimichurri, tomatoes,<br />
pickles, cos lettuce and of course –<br />
crispy french fries.<br />
It is impressively the second time<br />
that Brabin has won the challenge,<br />
winning the <strong>SA</strong> Pub Burger title in<br />
2019 whilst working as executive<br />
chef at the Feathers <strong>Hotel</strong>.<br />
“This year’s burger was different<br />
to 2019, but similar in some ways,”<br />
he said.<br />
“It is the same beef from Mayura<br />
Station down in Millicent, which is a<br />
no-brainer for me because it’s such a<br />
great product.<br />
“It’s a bit of a different burger flavour<br />
wise, has a bit of a punch, and a few<br />
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