SA’s top pub burger served up in public vote the Goodwood Park Hotel has taken out the people’s choice award for the best pub burger in the state. Voting was determined by the public for the first time in the history of the AHA SA Pub Burger Challenge, after the pandemic repeatedly ruined the plans of the official judging panel. Whittled down from 50 entries chosen last March, 12 burgers from hotels across the state were picked as finalists for a May cook-off, but COVID-19 restrictions meant the final judging scheduled to happen at Tasting Australia was cancelled. With the help of Solstice Media, publisher of InDaily and Citymag, the AHA|SA decided to throw open the judging to the public to pick the best burger from the 12 finalists, with the voting closing at midnight on Monday. With close to 300 votes tallied, The Goody on Goodwood Road proved to have plated up the most popular burger. The winner, simply named the Prime Beef Burger, is a $20 pub classic featuring American cheddar, bacon, pickles, caramelised onion, mustard and mayonnaise. The Goody’s co-owner Fran Rogers said keeping it simple was key when offering a pub staple like a burger, pizza or schnitzel. “People want to recognise their food and not be puzzled with what’s on the plate,” Fran says. “Although simple, the patty is house-made, with ingredients and seasoning that the chefs don’t let leave the kitchen! “We are proud of our handmade offerings, like aioli and mayonnaise, and plenty of love goes into all of it.” Fran, who has owned the hotel with Matt, Peter and Fiona Rogers for the past 12 years, says they enter the SA Pub Challenge most years because they like to be involved in the hospitality industry. “We appreciate the support the aha gives us and like to in turn support the industry,” Fran says.
“We also back ourselves, our chefs and our food.” If ever there was a year to back yourself, 2020 is it. “We’ve all been challenged this year, but everyone knows what has happened,” Fran says, dismissing the ups and downs and vertical drinking debate as something to be worked through. “We learned to be resilient, flexible and patient and to look for the positive. “We’ve been doing this a long time, so we just had to front up for our staff.” Fran says they are all looking forward to the New Year and thank their loyal customers for voting for the burger. The winners of the two $100 AHA|SA vouchers have been notified.