Overview
A burger inspired by the street food of Goa has taken out the title of best burger in the prestigious Burger Wellington awards.
There were more than 200 tasty entries and 11,500 public ratings in the high-stakes competition, which was part of the capital's Wellington On a Plate event, a celebration of the city's best food. Burger Wellington is a huge part of the month, with burger experts whipping up the tastiest and most unique versions of the humble sandwich.
The theme for 2023 was Breaking the Mould, which chefs took and ran with. The lineup included burgers made out of waffles, chocolate patties complete with blueberry muffin ketchup and grilled chicken rubbed with a coffee-based spice, just to name a few. But the one that came out on top was One80 Restaurant's Goan Chicken Ros Pao created by Executive Chef Chetan Pangam.
The winning burger was inspired by the street food of the chef's mother's hometown, Goa. The Indian-inspired burger combines spicy chicken curry with a ros omelette – which is similar to a gravy and made out of chickpeas – on a bun that is heavily influenced by poee bread, a type of bread similar to pita that is traditionally served alongside curry and ros omelette.
Pangam's goal was to create a street food-style burger that would flip the concept of "boring" on its head, something he said might be associated with hotel restaurants like One80.
Wellington On A Plate's festival director Sarah Meikle thought the burger was anything but boring, describing the Goan Chick Ros Pao as "a real flavour journey that brought together the fragrant herbs and spices of India".
As well as indulging in a range of incredible burgers, Burger Wellington also put its money where its mouth is, with food rescue organisation Everybody Eats raising more than $5000 with its To The Rescue burger. This burger was created using rescued and recycled food from fellow rescue centre Kaibosh, with punters able to pay whatever amount they saw fit.
While the Goan Chicken Ros Pao took out the top prize, a range of burgers walked away with gongs. This included the runner-up, Field & Green's Reuben-esque pastrami-filled sandwich, while third place went to Ernesto's Concina Cubana, a spicy concoction covered in secret Cuban sauce.
FULL LIST OF WINNERS:
One80's Goan Chicken Ros Pao - Burger Wellington presented by Garage Project Winner
Field & Green's Reuben-esque - 2nd place in Burger Wellington presented by Garage Project
Ernesto's Cocina Cubana - 3rd place in Burger Wellington presented by Garage Project
Elixir's The Phial Of Eären-Dill - Best Use of Theme
Myrtle's Belly and Jelly - Most Innovative
REGIONAL WINNERS:
Wairarapa - Café Medici's A Perfect Swine
Upper Hutt - Boneface Brewing Co's Yorkie Dork
Hutt City - Twenty Eight's Spice is Right
Porirua - T Bay Cafe's The Hot Chick
Kāpiti - Hey Coastie's Coast with the Most
Wellington on a Plate finished up on Sunday, August 27 and will return in May 2024. The May edition of the foodie festival focuses on events and pop-ups, while the August edition showcases burgers and beer.