Andrew Gee (Calare, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As you know, Calare is the food basket of the nation and home to some of Australia's most iconic tasty treats. The Tic Tacs or Nutella that you enjoy were made in Lithgow, and, of course, Bathurst is the home of the iconic Chiko Roll, despite the spurious claims of other members in this chamber. But our delights don't stop there. Calare is now home to the winner of the Great Aussie Pie Competition and champion sausage kings.

Matthew Clarke, a chef at the Hill End General Store, was awarded a gold medal for his Irish stew pies in the commercial bakery section of the Royal Bathurst Show, which gave him the confidence to tackle the Great Aussie Pie Competition. He entered numerous pies into the competition, and many of them did very well, with every pie placing with a medal, but, in a very exciting finish, he received gold for his lamb Irish stew creation. There is certainly nothing more iconic than a great Aussie meat pie. You can taste his delicious creations at the Hill End General Store, along with other tasty treats, such as Brendan White's Bellazza Ice Cream, which is also stocked there.

I can't sit down without mentioning the great work of Roy Roach and Sam Webb of the Gulgong Butchery, who were recently crowned regional New South Wales sausage kings for the second year in a row.

An honourable member: You're kidding!

I kid you not! An Australian pork sausage entered into the open gourmet category, as well as a traditional Australian sausage, were the two award-winning creations. The Gulgong kings also took home second prize for a sweet chilli and orange chicken sausage in the poultry category as well as a lamb roast, sweet potato and caramelised onion sausage in the lamb category.

The Gulgong Butchery has been operating for close to a decade now and, in that time, Roy and his team have collected awards in eight of the 10 years. They were recently providing Gulgong with blue-coloured snags in honour of the Gulgong Terriers making the Castlereagh League grand final. At the recent opening of the Bungaba hall, not too far from Gulgong, I had the pleasure of tasting one of the famed blue sausages, and I can tell you that they were first class. Can I congratulate all of our food champions in the Calare electorate on their work in not only operating small businesses but also making the products from our electorate famous around the nation.