Forest Byron Bay, a restaurant by Crystalbrook Collection, has won the Regional Contemporary Australian Restaurant – Formal category at the 2022 NSW Australia Restaurant & Catering Hostplus Awards for Excellence.
Jordan Rodgers, General Manager, Crystalbrook Byron, says he is thrilled to see the restaurant team’s talent and dedication acknowledged with such a prestigious award.
“Since Forest’s inception in November 2020, our chefs, front of house and beverage teams have all worked collectively to create a dining experience that focuses on sustainability, seasonality and connecting diners with incredible local Northern Rivers producers and suppliers” he said.
Set next to a lush rainforest oasis, Forest is passionately local with over 80% of ingredients coming from within a three-hour drive of the restaurant. Contemporary, social, approachable and distinctly Australian, Forest restaurant embraces the region’s abundance of stunning ingredients.
More than 250 local restaurants, cafés and catering businesses gathered on Monday 19 September to celebrate the achievements of their peers in over 80 categories, with the winners announced at a gala ceremony held at Sydney’s Royal Randwick Racecourse.
The Awards for Excellence is a nationally recognised, independently judged awards program that celebrates exceptional service and culinary talent across the state. The Awards for Excellence is the only program in Australia where the judging criteria is determined by consumers who rank what is important to them in the dining experience.
The Awards are judged by an independent team of trained judges who anonymously visit the venues to determine the restaurant/café winners. The scores are based on the entire dining experience from food to the customer service experienced when the judges anonymously dine.
R&CA CEO Belinda Clarke says, “Forest Byron Bay should be immensely proud of this win. The past two years have been incredibly tough for the entire hospitality industry in Australia but success stories like this show how far hard work can take you. With the right mix of staff, products, produce and service, the results can be extraordinary.”
R&CA is the industry association representing tens of thousands of restaurant and catering businesses across Australia. To view the full list of category winners in the 2022 Australia Restaurant & Catering Hostplus Awards for Excellence, visit the R&CA website at www.rca.asn.au.
