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Good Food critics judged by chefs at Turning the Tables dinner

A mixed grill from Jill Dupleix and Terry Durack at the Turning the Tables Dinner.
A mixed grill from Jill Dupleix and Terry Durack at the Turning the Tables Dinner.Jill Dupleix

Chefs and food critics swapped roles on Tuesday as the Turning the Tables dinner was declared a success at Glass Brasserie. Good Food's Terry Durack, Jill Dupleix, Myffy Rigby, Ardyn Bernoth and Callan Boys each designed and cooked a dish for members of the public to eat and chefs Ross Lusted (The Bridge Room) and Joe Pavlovich (Glass) together with a cravat-sporting Anthony Puharich from Vic's Meats, to critique.

The event, hosted by celebrity chef Luke Mangan, was part of Australia's Top 100 Restaurants Dining Program. Good Food writer and editor of the Brisbane Times 2017 Good Food Guide, Callan Boys, proved the simplest things in life are the best with a riff on two-fruits and custard that received the highest score from the MasterChef-style panel and biggest cheer from the diners.

A close second was Terry Durack and Jill Dupleix, combining considerable forces with one of the most delicious mixed grills ever plated.

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'Spaghetti marinara' from Myffy Rigby and Ardyn Bernoth.
'Spaghetti marinara' from Myffy Rigby and Ardyn Bernoth.Jill Dupliex

"We've created an homage to the mixed grill pub counter lunches of the past," said Dupleix on the night. "Both our dads used to take us to the pub and buy us a lemon squash and a mixed grill - but we've taken it way upmarket. Instead of a chop there's slow-cooked lamb rib, the steak is Rangers Valley flatiron, instead of an ice-cream scoop of mash, there's a beautiful pomme puree, instead of a sprig of curly parsley, there are some of Australia's crisp, coastal succulents. And instead of HP on the table, there's a lovely red wine jus.

The nostalgia for Aussie pub food was also evident in the combined effort from Spectrum editor and Good Food senior reviewer Ardyn Bernoth and The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide editor Myffy Rigby. The pair served a 'seafood marinara' of quick-grilled abalone with spaghetti and pangrattato. They were marked down for not making their own pasta, but as Dupleix said, "sometimes it just has to be spaghetti".

Bernoth and Rigby also served appetisers of house-made Jatz with whipped mortadella and hot-smoked oysters. The dish lost points from Ross Lusted as it wasn't served with Blue Nun, the 1980's favourite table wine.

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