Canterbury's 'best restaurant' award

 The dramatic exterior of Flame Bar and Restaurant . . . Canterbury's new premier venue

FLAME Restaurant and Bar has won the prestigious 'best restaurant' award at the ClubsNSW Awards for Excellence. Operations manager Anthony Biasotto and Executive chef Simon McNamara accepted the award, representing a dedicated staff who have worked hard to make the restaurant a showpiece of the area.

The restaurant, as part of Canterbury's renovated new wing, has been open for more than a year now, and is drawing an enthusiastic response from visitors. Extensive renovations have turned the original club -- until 1960 Belmore's Paragon No.1 movie theatre -- into a stunning facility of five-star standard.

Flame Bar and Restaurant certainly is the main attraction. This is an indoor-outdoor area that offers an outside area to dine or simply enjoy a drink, an extensive menu for light meals that is imaginative and quick, plus an exotic lunch and dinner menu from midday to 3pm and from 6pm onwards. A jazz band is in place on weekends from 5.30pm. 

The Heritage Bar is a fine place to relax and enjoy the company of friends in a sophisticated ambience. It offers a range of boutique beers and cocktails, plus an extensive wine list, and is lavishly furnished for relaxed enjoyment. Live background entertainment is part of the package from 8pm on Fridays and Saturdays. A snack menu is available.

The Paragon Room is the club's new showroom, where entertainment will be proivided on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This will also be the venue for the club's more traditional daytime offerings, including Variety Day, Bingo and Market Day events. 

The Bulldog Sports Bar is the venue for the traditional club sports lovers. It has many large platinum TV screens (including one giant screen), and offers the same high standcard appointment in finishes and furnishings that marks the rest of the new wing. It incorporates a couple of lounges, a TAB area and a snooker room. 

The opening of Flame and its associated attractions completed the second stage of the club's renovation, following the opening of the Banyan Brasserie and the Dynasty Restaurant in 2002. 

The C-Life Health and Fitness centre was completed late in 2007, and the final stage of the renovation will be a new Function Centre where the old auditorium is situated. This is due to open early next year.    

Restaurants offer wide variety

The club's restaurant offering has experienced substantial growth with the opening of Flame, leaving three options for Canterbury diners.

The Banyan Brasserie is operating as daily, providing more relaxed, inexpensive family meals.

A seasonal focus has been introduced to all restaurants to ensure the highest quality. Menus are now changing quarterly to reflect the seasons so that they can take full advantage of the fresh seasonal produce available.

The menus also are tailored to reflect specific need in a diverse club clientele. This embraces vegetarians, those with special religious need, the health conscious and both those customers who prefer a home-style cooked meal, and those who like something more creative.

The Dynasty Chinese Restaurant remains a highly successful venue for many members and their guests, and has won many city-wide awards.

Customer service has been an important part of the process in all Canterbury restaurants. The upgrading of staff knowledge through courses in wine appreciation, through the services of the coffee academy, and in the traditional areas of responsible service of alcohol, has been consistent.

The Atrium restaurant also is available as a private function area of particularly high standard.

Honour for club chefs

CANTERBURY culinary team Glen Miles and Kirk Hadzi-Mitrov have had outstanding success in the Chef’s Table competition, contested as part of the ClubsNSW Awards for Excellence.

Glen and Kirk made the final 12 in the competition, lifting them to the very top of outstanding performers drawn from the best of some 1500 NSW clubs.

The finals judging required chefs from 12 clubs to produce 20 three-course meals for three highly-qualified judges, and the fare presented was certainly not lacking in imagination.

Kirk and Glen went for a starter of salad of chilli salt squid with baby herbs, crispy eschalots and rice wine dressing. They followed that with a main of twice-cooked pork belly on a sage and snap pea risotto with an apple balsamic reduction. To top it off they prepared a dessert of pear and frangipane tart served with green tea semifreddo.

The fare from all contestants was of a similar standard, underlining the progress the club industry generally has made in the world of fine dining.