Regional Chef of the Year award ‘long overdue’ for Liberte’s Amy Hamilton, according to WA Good Food Guide

A decade-long dedication to growing her quirky Albany restaurant has resulted in Amy Hamilton being named the WA Good Food Guide’s regional chef of the year. Ms Hamilton said she had no idea she was in line for an award ahead of her name being called out because a short list of finalists had not been announced. She said it was not until they started describing the winner as having a quirky bar that she realised the award could be going to her. “Shock was my initial reaction I guess,” she said. “And I was seated in the very, very back row so I felt like I had to walk 50km to get to the stage. “It’s always a bit of a blur when you win an award like this and I don’t remember anything I said on stage but apparently it was OK.” While Liberte has previously been recognised with awards for its take on a Franco-Vietnamese menu, it is the first award for Ms Hamilton as its owner and chef. In its citation for the award, the WA Good Food Guide described it as “overdue ... for a titan of WA hospitality” and said Liberte was proof “one restaurant can change the outlook of a regional city”. Ms Hamilton said a growing number of venues doing exciting things was great for Albany because it was “nice to be able to factor in holidays with a cool place to eat and drink”. “I remember a couple of years ago I had so many people say to me they love having Liberte here because they feel really proud when they have visitors from out of town come and they say ‘I want to take you to Liberte’,” she said. “It gives the locals something to be proud of, and I think this award reflects that in a lot of ways. “I’m proud of how Liberte has been embraced — there was a lot of really lovely feedback when I shared the news on social media.”