This year marks the 21st anniversary of the Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Awards. Sort of. Gourmet Traveller has been covering the best in Australian restaurants since its inception more than 40 years ago, but the first incarnation of the awards appeared in The Bulletin in 1982. In 1988, the awards migrated to Australian Gourmet, as the magazine was then known, and Berowra Waters Inn was named Australia’s Best Restaurant, alongside Stephanie’s in Victoria, Chevaliers in Queensland, Dear Friends in Tasmania, Duthy’s in South Australia and The Irwin in Western Australia. The following year saw the first edition of the magazine’s restaurant guide as a separate publication (Stephanie’s took out the top spot) and from then on, Gourmet Traveller has published a guide to the nation’s best eating. Today, we draw on the expertise of our reviewers and editors in each state to make the big calls, but it wasn’t always the case. For many years, the final decision was made by a special guest judge from the wider food world, who would fly in to tour the nation’s best eateries. New York Times restaurant critic Craig Claiborne was the first guest judge and over the years, everyone from London critic Fay Maschler to The Fat Duck’s Heston Blumenthal enjoyed judging, but these days we figure that, as Australians, we’re pretty well qualified to talk about Australian food ourselves.

To find out who won this year's awards, click here.