The 2008 Restaurant and Catering Hostplus Gold Coast Awards for Excellence was held at the Gold Coast Convention Centre. Over 450 people attended the ‘Oscars’ for the industry in the hope of winning an award. Winners include Songbirds in the Rainforest for Best Tourism Restaurant, Charters Towers for Best Modern Australian Restaurant and Omeros Bros for Best Family Restaurant. Congratulations to all the winners who now compete for the state awards. There were certainly some weary heads in the morning with some winners still floating around town at 4am the next morning.

By Andrew Meadowcroft