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The West Australian’s food reviewer search: Do you have what it takes to join our eating and drinking A-Team?

Headshot of Simon Collins
Simon CollinsThe West Australian
The West Australian’s food and drink A-Team are looking for someone to fill the remaining seat.
Camera IconThe West Australian’s food and drink A-Team are looking for someone to fill the remaining seat. Credit: Jackson Flindell/The West Australian

Meet your new A-Team for eating and drinking in WA — where the A stands for appetite.

An appetite for great food and beverages.

A hunger to hunt down Perth’s latest hot spots.

A desire to discover delicious drinks.

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A determination to not only find great food but also great value food for our readers — and have a great time doing it.

SCROLL DOWN TO ENTER OUR COMPETITION TO JOIN THE WEST AUSTRALIAN’S FOOD AND WINE A-TEAM

In short, these writers have, as Iggy Pop once sang, a lust for life.

Our six-pronged A-Team is like a Swiss Army Knife for dining out or finding a lovely tipple, or perhaps a Waiter’s Friend. Actually, more a Customer’s Friend.

Want to know the hottest new restaurant? Hotspot hunter Jade Jurewicz has the low down.

Simon Collins, Kate Emery, Paul Edwards, Jade Jurewicz, Amanda Keenan at The Beaufort in Highgate.
Camera IconSimon Collins, Kate Emery, Paul Edwards, Jade Jurewicz, Amanda Keenan at The Beaufort in Highgate. Credit: Jackson Flindell/The West Australian

Hankering for Perth’s best breakfast or brunch? Café queen Kate Emery knows just the place.

Looking for a fancy fine diner for that special occasion? Read dining diva Amanda Keenan’s latest review.

Chasing a brilliant bottle to go with a certain dish? Wine whisperer Paul Edwards is your man.

Or simply after a no-fuss brewpub to take the family for a terrific feed? Taste buddy Simon Collins can point you in the right direction.

And you can trust these recommendations because our restaurant critics pay for their meals, unlike those unreliable influencers who swap free tucker for a glowing review.

The A-Team is here for you, and we are on the hunt for a sixth reviewer to join the squad.

Are you a foodie but not a food snob?

Do you know your scrambled eggs from shakshouka, but love the dirty bird as much as a brined chook?

Does a cheeky counter meal excite you as much as an omakase?

Are you always the one booking dinner for you and your mates?

Paul Edwards, Kate Emery, Amanda Keenan, Simon Collins and Jade Jurewicz.
Camera IconPaul Edwards, Kate Emery, Amanda Keenan, Simon Collins and Jade Jurewicz. Credit: Jackson Flindell/The West Australian

Do you have strong opinions about service, atmosphere and stemware?

Could you be our citizen food critic?

Dish up a snappy video telling us why you’ve got the chops.

To apply, upload a two-minute video telling us why you are the right fit via the form at the bottom of this article.

If successful, you’ll be paid industry rates for your reviews (up to four commissioned reviews per month), plus the cost of the meal for you and a plus-one.

Entries close on June 17 at 11.59pm WST.

Who knows, you could be drinking and dining your way through WA’s super-charged hospitality scene with the A-Team.

Potential citizen food critics must be Perth based; over 18 years of age; hold valid Australian work rights (or be an Australian citizen); have an ABN and actually visit the establishments you review (no third party or outsourced opinions, please.)

Before applying, see the conditions of application here. The terms of engagement for the successful applicant will be set out in a contract with West Australian Newspapers Ltd.

MEET THE A-TEAM

Simon Collins: Taste buddy

Simon has been eating since he was a baby, starting with solids and working down to foie gras. He loves a smoky rack of barbecue ribs or spicy bun bo hue as much as a fancy degustation, a family-run hole in the wall as much as a destination restaurant.

Simon recently fell down the rabbit hole of craft brewing, following WA’s burgeoning boutique beer scene. Food and beer matching is a passion, but he’ll forgo an ale for a tasty South West red.

Simon Collins has a lifetime’s experience of eating food under his belt.
Camera IconSimon Collins has a lifetime’s experience of eating food under his belt. Credit: Jackson Flindell/The West Australian

He calls a spoon a spoon, even when he’s using chopsticks, and the soundtrack in a restaurant matters. You’ve been warned.

Jade Jurewicz: Hotspot hunter

Jade is the type of person friends, family, a neighbour’s sister — you name it — goes to for restaurant and bar recommendations.

Whether it be a venue with a wow factor to impress an out-of-towner, a new wine bar you hadn’t tried before or a casual spot to enjoy a feed in your comfy clothes, she knows a spot.

If there’s anyone who knows Perth’s hottest new restaurants or bars, it’s Jade Jurewicz.
Camera IconIf there’s anyone who knows Perth’s hottest new restaurants or bars, it’s Jade Jurewicz. Credit: Jackson Flindell/The West Australian

Jade is out to try every venue in Perth at least once, keeping a keen eye on flavour, interiors and service to judge whether she will add it to her ever-growing hit list.

Kate Emery: Café queen

Kate knows the most important meal of the day is breakfast. Also brunch.

It doesn’t get better than syrupy pancakes topped with Chantilly cream, or baked eggs with a side of hash browns the size of your head.

Kate Emery has built up a reputation as the queen of breakfast - and brunch - in WA.
Camera IconKate Emery has built up a reputation as the queen of breakfast - and brunch - in WA. Credit: Jackson Flindell/The West Australian

With a vegetarian bent and insatiable greed, Kate aims to help you choose the best place to start your day, whether you’re in the mood for a bloody Mary and a brisket benny or a long mac with a matcha croissant.

Amanda Keenan: Dining diva

As a child Amanda once demanded: “Let me see this taste”. Had TikTok existed, the young future foodie might have gone viral for her quaintly nonsensical precursor to each exciting new food experience.

Her curiosity — and hunger — has barely waned in the years since. Amanda continues in her quest for the funkiest ma po tofu, the finest flesh, the most exquisite brassica and the most glorious negroni.

Amanda Keenan is relentless in her search for WA’s best dining - but food snobbery is not her thing.
Camera IconAmanda Keenan is relentless in her search for WA’s best dining - but food snobbery is not her thing. Credit: Jackson Flindell/The West Australian

She abhors food snobbery and applauds good people doing great things in tough times.

Paul Edwards: Wine whisperer

In an attempt to make his drinking hobby a profession, Paul joined the wine trade in London in the late 1990s.

The coalface of retail is his main gig, but he has enjoyed seasonal forays into wine judging, hospitality (as beverage director of seven venues in Perth’s State Buildings), and for 10 years as a qualified Wine and Spirits Education Trust educator.

Paul Edwards got his start in wine when he attempted to make his drinking hobby a profession.
Camera IconPaul Edwards got his start in wine when he attempted to make his drinking hobby a profession. Credit: Jackson Flindell/The West Australian

Paul insists “wine is the most important of the unimportant things in life”, a misquote from his beloved sport of soccer.

Citizen food critic

Our citizen food critic enjoys making a fuss about food, but isn’t into fussy food.

They love discovering a great family-owned business in an unfashionable part of Perth as much as finding out why a certain restaurant is attracting deafening buzz.

The people’s reviewer is always being hit up for foodie tips, loves being in the know and can’t wait to find that next near-perfect dinner.

In short, they are the real deal on the hunt for a great meal. And they could be you.

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