The prestigious 2018 delicious award winners were announced at a gala event in Sydney this week.
The awards are a celebration of Australia’s finest and most innovative produce and ingredients from producers, farmers, innovators and regional and emerging chefs.
Taking out the highest level for the From the Paddock category was Mayura Station with a Wagyu rib eye on the bone, with an impressive marble score of 9+. 
The national competition nominees are drawn from state winners across four major categories – From the Dairy, From the Earth, From the Paddock and From the Sea.
Judges for the awards are some of the country’s most well known and respected chefs – including Shannon Bennett, Matt Moran (ambassador), Maggie Beer, Peter Gilmore, Christine Manfield, Colin Fassnidge, Alla Wolf-Tasker, Ashley Palmer-Watts and Guillaume Brahimi.
To be in the running for an award, applicants must be nominated by a state judge to compete at the state level. Judges will then invite the successful nominees to compete nationally.
The judging criteria is extensive and includes elements such as provenance and husbandry as well as the quality and taste of the final product.
The South Australian competition was held in March, where Mayura Station was nominated to present Wagyu in the From the Paddock category. Within a week, Mayura had been nominated to compete nationally.
“It was such an honour to be nominated for the South Australian competition,” says Scott de Bruin, managing director, Mayura Station. “To then make it through to the national competition was incredible.
“The From the Paddock Trophy is humbling – it is a privilege for our Wagyu products to be critiqued and recognised by the country’s best chefs. For Mayura it is wonderful to be recognised and it acknowledges how much time and effort goes into producing quality Wagyu.
“With this award, the Wagyu industry can honestly say that we have an exceptional product that can compete on the world stage. I am very proud of our team and our achievement.”
“The award Mayura has received is great recognition of the quality of produce that originates in South Australia and it is a big feather in the cap for the state and for Scott,” said South Australian judge, Paul Baker, head chef, Botanic Gardens Restaurant.
“The competition this year was easily the strongest it has been for several years. The Wagyu Mayura presented was the best meat I’ve ever eaten. To judge, we kept it simple – a little bit of salt and olive oil – and let the flavour speak for itself.”
-AWA