Experience amazing: Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Awards to spotlight Tasmania’s culinary scene for 45th anniversary

Gourmet Traveller Awards - Nicky Briger

The 2025 Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Awards head to Hobart for the first time, celebrating four and a half decades of Australia’s top dining accolades.

Are Media’s Gourmet Traveller will mark a major milestone in 2025, celebrating 45 years of its annual Restaurant Awards by hosting the event in Hobart for the first time.

Set for Sunday 18 August, the 2025 Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Awards will take place at the heritage-listed Henry Jones Art Hotel within Hobart’s IXL Atrium. The exclusive event will gather more than 100 chefs, restaurateurs and industry leaders to honour Australia’s best culinary talent and venues.

The evening will feature a bespoke menu created by Rodney Dunn, Co-Founder and Executive Chef of The Agrarian Kitchen, and winner of the 2024 Restaurant of the Year award.

This year’s finalists will compete across six categories: Best New Talent, Best New Restaurant, Best Destination Dining, Restaurant Personality of the Year, Bar of the Year, and the Readers’ Choice Icon Award. Additional peer-voted accolades, including Chef of the Year, Outstanding Contribution to Hospitality, and the coveted Restaurant of the Year, will be revealed on the night.

The awards are supported by Lexus as presenting partner, alongside Scanpan, Wedgwood, Porkstar, Tourism Tasmania and Petaluma Wines.

Nicky Briger, General Manager, Luxury at Are Media, said: “For more than four decades, the Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Awards have presented the best of the best in Australia’s world-class hospitality industry, championing its creativity, passion and excellence.”

“The 2025 awards will be even more special than normal, as we travel to Hobart for the first time and celebrate our 45th anniversary.”

John Pappas, Chief Executive of Lexus Australia, added: “These awards shine a light on our most inspiring chefs, restaurateurs, memorable dining moments and the stories that define our dining culture, inviting us all to experience amazing.”

Sarah Clark, CEO of Tourism Tasmania, welcomed the move to Tasmania: “Tasmania has long been celebrated for its world-class produce, hospitality and unique sense of place – and this prestigious event provides the perfect platform to showcase that to a national audience.”

The full list of 2025 finalists will be published in the August issue of Gourmet Traveller, on sale 28 July. Winners’ profiles and the annual Restaurant Guide, listing Australia’s top 100 restaurants, will follow in the September issue, available 25 August.

Top image: Nicky Briger

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