For many restaurants entering the festival dish competition Wellington on a Plate, it was over before it started.

New entrant to the competition Stephen Edwards, manager of the Wellesley Boutique Hotel, was shocked to find the winner was announced ahead of festival events, despite judges having never tasted their menu.

"I was completely shocked, my chef was the one who pointed it out to me, and he was completely deflated," Mr Edwards said.

All restaurants involved in 'Dine Wellington' are entered into the festival dish competition, meaning hundreds of dishes were vying for the accolade.

Judges Sarah Meikle, Lucy Corry and Liz Egan tasted festival dish meals at five different restaurants, which were picked out of a shortlist.

From those five the judges selected Jano Bistro as the winner.



Festival director Sarah Meikle says the judging process has not changed since it started five years ago.

She says the reason for selecting the winner so early is to "build hype around the 136 Dine Wellington menus on offer and give people the ability to try the dish, if they wish, while it's on the menu".

The Wellington on a Plate website does state that a festival dish winner will be announced in early August.

However, Mr Edwards is not alone in his concerns.

The Backbenchers Gastropub director Alistair Boyce is also disappointed that the winner has been selected ahead of festival events.

"It's a great promotion, and Wellington loves it, but it needs to be a genuine competition," Mr Boyce said.

By deciding beforehand they have undermined the spirit of competition, he says.

It seems the public is still hungry for the festival dishes served up at The Backbencher with 30 sold during lunch service on Friday.

Kanteen director Jet Patel believes there is room for improvement in the judging process.

"It's about making sure everyone knows what the criteria is," Mr Patel said.

"We spent a lot of money on marketing, so it's about making sure it's fair."

However, he thinks they will still be busy during the festival.

"It's a great deal for the punters."



All the restauranteurs One News spoke to haven't completely lost their appetite for the competition.



They’re hoping the public will actually try their menus and make up their own minds about what makes a Festival Dish.