The plates are heating up again at the Kiama Leagues Club’s Sails Family Bistro with head chef Sarah Rebbeck out for another top gong in this year’s ClubsNSW Your Local Club Perfect Plate awards.

Rebbeck and Kiama Leagues Club are aiming for another perfect plate, after securing bragging rights in 2023 with two entries, their Middle Eastern Lamb Rack and Panna Colada.

Acknowledging that Australians love lamb, Rebbeck and staff narrowed it down to this dish, with the sauce proving to be the real hero on the plate.

“The lamb is beautiful, it is just melting in your mouth, but it is really about the sauce and flavours,” Rebbeck said.

The sauce recipe itself is a blend of secret herbs and spices, with the chefs sticking to the methodology consistently so it is of the highest standard for diners every time.

“The taste is important, but it needs to be produced over and over. We have 10 different chefs altogether,” she explained.

“The recipe is massive, with many different components, but yes, its lots of spices, very Middle Eastern flavours. It is quite the blend.”

So far, the feedback has been positive with one diner saying to Rebbeck that the dish would not be out of place at a Michelin Star restaurant.

Over the years, menus at pubs and clubs have evolved from the classics.

“It has become a place where they focus a lot on their food and beverage, and Perfect Plate is part of that,” Rebbeck added.

“This is trying to show people that clubs are more than what the collective perception is, because people might not have stepped into a club for years.”

Rebbeck leant on her chef Gav to procure the dessert dish for the competion, Panna Colada, which is the combination of two dishes.

“Gav loves his pastries and desserts. Oh, and biscotti!” she said.

The competition has provided a platform for clubs to showcase not only their talented chefs, but their camaraderie, by visiting and supporting other clubs and their chefs.

“It’s a bit of rivalry and a good prize, but really, it all comes down to bragging rights and being the ones that win,” Rebbeck said.

Former Parramatta Eels NRL star Nathan Hindmarsh joins expert chefs Matt Moran and Courtney Roulston as ambassadors for the Perfect Plate Awards.

Be quick and head to support your local club before the competion ends on 15 June and you can vote for Kiama Leagues Club at the Perfect Plate website.