And it's made in Cairns...
Cairns Guyala Café has been crowned as Australia's BEST Mushrooms on Toast
- Guyala Café in Cairns has been announced as the winner of Australian Mushrooms’ #MyMushroomToast competition, winning a $10,000 cash prize
- The winning dish will be a permanent addition to the café’s menu and is made up of a delicious combination of Australia Mushrooms, truffle and cashew pate layers on toast, dressed with goat's cheese
Guyala Café in Cairns has been announced as the winner of the #MyMushroomToast competition, which saw it beat 16 other national finalists for the crowning glory of Australia’s best mushrooms on toast dish and a $10,000 cash prize.
The winning dish, which will be a permanent addition to the café’s menu, is made up of a delicious combination of Australina Mushrooms, truffle and cashew pate layers on toast, dressed with goat's cheese and pickled red onion. The new customer favourite recipe can also be made vegan by swapping the cheese out for a delicious coconut feta alternative.
This may sound all a bit fancy, but the dish can be easily made at home by using ready-made nut butter spread and leaving out the truffle, the mushrooms will add enough flavour all on their own!
The #MyMushroomToast campaign was launched to encourage Aussies to order a fresh spin on a classic menu item after research found nearly three-quarters (74%) of Aussies who often dine out for breakfast state they’re likely to be inspired by their local café to recreate a menu item at home.
Guyala Café owner and competition winner Oliver James explained how he makes the delicious dish: "The key ingredient to the Truffle Mushrooms dish is the cashew-based mushroom truffle pâté we make.
"We build the dish by layering sourdough with our mushroom truffle pâté, the cooked Australian Mushrooms – plus goat’s chèvre and pickled red onion, finishing with dried rose petals, flaked salt and pepper and olive oil direct from the Grampians Olive Co. farm.
When asked about what they will do with the $10,000 Oliver James said:“We've been looking to kickstart our own sourdough production in Cairns. This win will be a huge help in realising that goal.
"The rest will be donated to OzHarvest. The work they do in reducing food waste while simultaneously supporting those in need is so important for the community as well as the environment."
Head Chef at Guyala Café, Toni Tkhon said:"We're always pushing for the best at Guyala. It's great to receive recognition for all the hard work we've been putting in."
Internationally renowned chef Jason Roberts, who supported the campaign, said: “It was a pleasure being involved with such a forward-thinking campaign. Inspiring to see a community of chefs + cooks get so creative with the mighty Mushie. Seeing such wonderful dishes and bring to life local produce was a delight. I look forward to hearing how the people of Cairns enjoy the delicious truffle mushroom dish from the Guyala Café.”
The judges, comprising eight industry experts, said: “The winning dish is well balanced in terms of flavours and Australian Mushrooms are the number one hero ingredient. Using produce from local suppliers, the Guyala Café did an excellent job of representing a hero dish for the menu and will keep customers coming back to the café to enjoy this mushroom dish as often as they llike, a real winner for the café.”
The competition has proved a brilliant exhibition of the excellent quality food in regional cafés. The judges were impressed and pleased to see several regional cafés enter the competition as well as metro-based cafés. In fact, more than half of the finalists were from regional Australia/non-metro towns, and in some cases, they outshone the metro cafés.
It’s important to keep café menu ideas fresh and up to date, with nearly a quarter (24%) of the nation reporting they'd order Mushrooms on Toast if it were available on the menu, over other popular breakfast dishes like Bacon & Egg which was ranked first by 28%, which is why Australian Mushrooms sought to bring new and fresh ideas to the table.
Australian Mushrooms spokesperson Leah Bramich said: “It’s amazing to see how people are able to utilise our local produce to create such delicious, inspiring dishes. Especially when we are so lucky to have so much available to us, on our doorsteps. We want to thank the judges for helping decide the worthy winner and being involved in the process.”
Guyala Café is a first-of-its-kind fully accessible community centre for the not-for-profit Spinal Life Australia which helps bridge the broader community and the Spinal Life facility. The café delivers a thoughtful menu, utilising local and indigenous ingredients, all the while with an international influence.
You can find the Guyala Café at 2 Smith St, Cairns North QLD 4870. If you feel inspired by the recipe, you can see more at the Australian Mushrooms website or visit its Facebook or Instagram.
