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Overview
Sydney's reached peak burger obsession. No longer confined to the realms of American chains and RSL bistros, burgers now clock up appearances on the menus of top-tier, hatted chefs, each putting their own contemporary, fine dining spin on the longtime casual favourite. So we reckoned it was about time for a good ol' fashioned burger battle — and so did Merivale.
This February, we invited 16 of Merivale's top chefs to Ivy Ballroom to hit the kitchen and cook up their ultimate burger for March Into Merivale's Between Two Buns. Some, like Mr. Wong's Dan Hong, opted for their widely celebrated, longtime burger recipes (hel-lo Lotus Burger), while others dreamed up new and strange burger possibilities —Bistrode CBD's Jeremy Strode did a chicken and eel burger (and nailed it).
Sitting on the judging panel, our own fearless leader and founder of Concrete Playground Rich Fogarty, Merivale CEO Justin Hemmes, Merivale chef Danielle Alvarez (Fred's, opening soon), and Merivale marketing director Andrew El-Bayeh. Feasting on 16 top-tier burgers sounds like a tough job, but these guys pulled through (with many, many napkins).
Watch it all go down here:
So, who won over the judges? Here's the winning six burgers, and you'll be able to try every single one of these juicy delights during March Into Merivale, at Between Two Buns on Wednesday, February 17.
BETWEEN TWO BUNS FINALISTS:
Dan Hong (Mr. Wong) — Lotus Burger
Alex Lewis (The Beresford) — The ultimate duck burger
Jeremy Strode (The Fish Shop/ Bistrode CBD) — The Fish Dog (chicken and eel)
Jordan Toft (Coogee Pavilion) — Aged trim beef, cheese, burger sauce, B&B pickle
Paul Donnelley (Ms.G's) — Beef, bacon and cheese burger
Patrick Friesen & Chris Hogarth (Papi Chulo/Queen Chow) — Canadian beef and bacon burger
Best bit? We're giving you the chance to win a year's worth of burgers for free. A YEAR OF FREE BURGERS. More details this way.