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Speaker 1: The very best of the Northern Territories food and beverage

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Speaker 1: industry has been honored and celebrated at the Gold Plate

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Speaker 1: Awards overnight. The event was held at the Middle Beach Casino.

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Speaker 1: Brought together well a whole raft of our hospitality industry

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Speaker 1: to really showcase and recognize the wonderful work that they do.

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Speaker 1: Now joining me on the line to take us through

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Speaker 1: those winners is Hospitality NT CEO Kathy Simmons.

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Speaker 2: Good morning, Kathy, morning Katie. Now tell me who took

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Speaker 2: out the Chef of the year. First off, Oh.

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Speaker 3: Chef of the Year. We're really proud of this one.

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Speaker 3: It's gone to Joe Whitehouse at Berry Springs Tavern. I

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Speaker 3: know lots of locals up here in DWHN and Palmerston

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Speaker 3: will have gone out to Berry Springs in their time.

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Speaker 2: For a parmer absolutely on the massive burgers. They've got

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Speaker 2: it all out there.

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Speaker 3: They really do. It's a fantastic venue. It's so beautiful

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Speaker 3: and just really authentic. You know, it's really proud that

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Speaker 3: one's come from a pub and it's nice signed to

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Speaker 3: allow restaurant members you you know, looking at well, I'll.

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Speaker 2: Tell you what it must be. Bloody hard to choose

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Speaker 2: the winners.

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Speaker 3: Oh, it is. It is a lot of work goes

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Speaker 3: into the judging. We have some and we have a

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Speaker 3: good team of anonymous judges. It's all very it's quite strict,

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Speaker 3: actually very strict process around it. So you know, if

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Speaker 3: you if you see me out and about it of

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Speaker 3: any in July, please don't assume that I'm a judge

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Speaker 3: because I'm absolutely not. I'm too biased, So you can't

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Speaker 3: do it.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, and you've got you know, you go out everywhere.

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Speaker 2: You've got to be like you as the CEO.

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Speaker 1: You've got to be trying everybody's food and going out

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Speaker 1: everywhere regardless.

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Speaker 3: Well, that's right, absolutely, I'm pretty nice about it. Our

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Speaker 3: chair of judges things, you know, I'm pretty nice about

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Speaker 3: the judging. I try to give everyone ten.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, too diplomatic. Now, well you're not the right person

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Speaker 1: for the job, then, Kathy, you're the right person for

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Speaker 1: the CEO, but not for not for judging the gold

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Speaker 1: Player Awards.

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Speaker 2: Now tell me. I know that there.

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Speaker 1: Is always some in incredible territory talent recognized at the

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Speaker 1: gold Plates as well as you know, some of our

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Speaker 1: favorite restaurants and locations to attend. Talk us through some

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Speaker 1: of the winners and you know why they were recognized.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, definitely. We've had some old favorites and also some

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Speaker 3: newcomers as well recognized this year, which is really good

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Speaker 3: to see. It's good to see that kind of range

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Speaker 3: of talent that we've got going in the Northern Territory.

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Speaker 3: Restaurant of the Year actually went to a Red Center restaurant,

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Speaker 3: tally Wiru down at Voyagers as Rock Resource, which is

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Speaker 3: really exciting for Central Australia, really exciting. So hope to

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Speaker 3: see a few more Darwinians head down there, you know

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Speaker 3: as the weather gets a bit warmer, a bit nicer,

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Speaker 3: a bit nicer down there and a bit weather up here,

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Speaker 3: so that'd be really good. And the other one I

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Speaker 3: want to call out particularly is Dundee Beach Tavern winning

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Speaker 3: a Best Outback Dining. It's really exciting. They were recognized

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Speaker 3: at the National Awards AHA Awards last year, so it's

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Speaker 3: really good to see that. They just keep kicking goals.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, how good.

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Speaker 1: And so what did they sort of do differently that

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Speaker 1: made the judges really sort of recognize their work this

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Speaker 1: time round.

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Speaker 3: Well, it's a combination of things, right, you know, it's

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Speaker 3: obviously the best outback dining. So it's the location that

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Speaker 3: is the eligibility criteria, but it's everything. It's the service,

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Speaker 3: it's the food, it's the bev, it's the surroundings like

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Speaker 3: it's you know, anyone who hasn't gotten out to Dundee

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Speaker 3: Beach to havn't really has to go. It's just glorious's

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Speaker 3: paradise out there. Now.

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Speaker 2: Who won the best steak this year?

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Speaker 3: Best Steak went to Peelee's at the Point, which I

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Speaker 3: think is a bit of a controversial one. I think

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Speaker 3: there was a lot of interest for best steak as well,

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Speaker 3: but pee Wee's pee Wee's took home the chockey's on

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Speaker 3: that one.

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Speaker 2: He's always a good feed, they're no doubt about that.

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Speaker 3: The other one I'm I'm particularly excited about is Flyins

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Speaker 3: Palmesan winning best Burger. I'm about to head out there

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Speaker 3: for lunch myself.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, good on you. Oh wish I was. I'm hungry.

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Speaker 3: Now.

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Speaker 1: Then well, then you look at the at the beverages,

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Speaker 1: and the beverage excellence shone through the Barrista of the

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Speaker 1: Year who was named the Barrista.

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Speaker 2: Of the Year.

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Speaker 3: That's right, Minwea Cave coffee man Darwin here in the

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Speaker 3: city really excited that that was an incredible showdown that

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Speaker 3: Barista of the Year competition. We had dozens of people

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Speaker 3: turn up to cheer on their favorites as well, which

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Speaker 3: is really exciting.

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Speaker 1: How good, Well, it's you know, everybody wants a good coffee,

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Speaker 1: Like I feel like these are the awards that everybody

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Speaker 1: wants to know who's won, because they want to get

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Speaker 1: out there and if they're not already purchasing their coffee

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Speaker 1: or their steak from there, they want to go and

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Speaker 1: try it.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, it's such a good list to kind of go

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Speaker 3: and try out something you know, you might not have

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Speaker 3: tried before, or you've seen it and gone like, I

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Speaker 3: don't know, know, I will try it now. Actually, yeah,

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Speaker 3: I try something new. And we absolutely bad above our

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Speaker 3: average across the Northern Territory. We absolutely bad above considering

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Speaker 3: our small population. You know, I've not had a bad

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Speaker 3: coffee since moving here. And I'm sure a lot of

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Speaker 3: people from down south, from you know, places that are

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Speaker 3: really proud of their coffee New Zealand or Melbourne, they

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Speaker 3: are surprised when they come here and we're really underestimated.

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Speaker 1: I agree and you know, like when you have family

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Speaker 1: or friends come here as well, you realize that you

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Speaker 1: know that people will often jump online or they'll go

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Speaker 1: and do their own sort of investigating on social media,

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Speaker 1: like on Instagram, and that to work out where they

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Speaker 1: want to go, get their coffees, where they want to

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Speaker 1: go and eat, where they reckon they can get their

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Speaker 1: best cocktail. I mean, honestly, you guys have really sort

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Speaker 1: of created the list that everybody who travels here can

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Speaker 1: they have a close to look at.

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Speaker 3: Absolutely, we do, and we try to do that. And

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Speaker 3: I hope everyone who was there last night and we

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Speaker 3: had about five hundred and fifty people, I hope everyone

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Speaker 3: was taking photos of their food and their welcome cocktails

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Speaker 3: from our Bartender of the Year finalists, so posting it

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Speaker 3: on socials and getting everyone to realize, ah, it's not

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Speaker 3: just you know, crocodiles and road tripping, it's coffee and

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Speaker 3: cocktails too.

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Speaker 1: Absolutely, so who ended up taking out the Bartender of

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Speaker 1: the Year this year.

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Speaker 3: I'm pretty proud of him. Matt's Arenas from Barco Komo.

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Speaker 3: He's been he's been in the industry for such a

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Speaker 3: long time and I think he's been final three finalists

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Speaker 3: for the last two or three years in a row,

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Speaker 3: and now he's finally finally taking home the Chockey, which

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Speaker 3: is excellent. It's really really pleasing to see. And he's

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Speaker 3: entering heaps of competitions around the country as well. Now

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Speaker 3: it's really good, like really getting getting around his craft

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Speaker 3: and honing it.

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Speaker 1: How good like you even you know, this year and

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Speaker 1: I don't know how many years you've been doing it,

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Speaker 1: but even you've even got like your best Vegetarian dining,

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Speaker 1: your best you know, like the best Asian food or

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Speaker 1: the best Asian restaurant.

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Speaker 2: You know, there's really something for everybody.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, we try to update the list every year as

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Speaker 3: well to make sure it is pretty current. So Best

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Speaker 3: Vegetarian is one of the new awards just for this year,

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Speaker 3: and I think I'll remain as well as we try

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Speaker 3: and get some more nominations for that one going forward,

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Speaker 3: because it just does make it kind of like well,

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Speaker 3: rounding out from past best Burger and best Steak, you know,

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Speaker 3: there's yeah, as you say, like something for everyone. Best

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Speaker 3: food you like that, well.

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Speaker 2: That's right, your best seafood And I'm just looking at

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Speaker 2: that now. One by Pink Chopstick. How cool. I wouldn't

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Speaker 2: have thought of them for best seafood.

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Speaker 3: We'll get down there and have a much I'm gonna have.

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Speaker 2: To, That's exactly.

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Speaker 1: That's what I am literally thinking, Kaffy. As I'm reading

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Speaker 1: through the least, I'm going, oh, where haven't I tried yet?

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Speaker 2: And there is definitely Yeah, there's.

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Speaker 1: So many wonderful like so many wonderful locations across the

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Speaker 1: Northern Territory when it comes to food and beverage. But

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Speaker 1: as you touched on as well, even for your coffees,

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Speaker 1: and I just think it's a great opportunity at those

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Speaker 1: Goldplayed Awards for our wonderful hospitality industry to be recognized

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Speaker 1: in this way for and for that fine dining and

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Speaker 1: the casual dining everybody to be able to have a

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Speaker 1: chance to really be wrecking nice.

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Speaker 3: That's right. And you know, the range of rewards that

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Speaker 3: we have does show that we have a real diversity

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Speaker 3: across our industry. Like there's there's you know, you can

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Speaker 3: you can go find dining, you can have a casual

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Speaker 3: meal and the quality will be excellent every time in

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Speaker 3: the Northern Territory.

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Speaker 2: Now tell me with some.

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Speaker 1: Of the winners, do they go on then to compete

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Speaker 1: on a national stage or not really for this event.

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Speaker 3: Unfortunately, not really for this event. The restaurant affiliation is

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Speaker 3: not is not something that's nationalized. It's something we would

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Speaker 3: love to see more of. Some of our counterparts in

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Speaker 3: the other states and territories do have restaurant members, but

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Speaker 3: we haven't quite nationalized it yet, so that might be

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Speaker 3: might be something I pushed towards. Now.

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Speaker 1: Well, well and exciting, Kathy, lovely to talk to you

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Speaker 1: this morning, and so good to see all of those wonderful,

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Speaker 1: wonderful businesses recognized and wonderful individuals recognized as well.

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Speaker 3: It's so exciting. The industry is so exciting at the moment, Katie,

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Speaker 3: you love to see it.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, good stuff. Well, Kathy, lovely to talk to you.

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Speaker 1: Thank you so much for your time this morning.

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Speaker 3: Thanks so much, Katie.

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Speaker 2: Thank you