Ms Hawke opened her restaurant eight years ago and, having won a hat every year but one, she knows the value of having a hat at a time when diners are becoming increasingly discerning about where they spend their cash.

“There’s no doubt that we’re feeling the effects of the recession and we’ve had to lay staff off and do a lot more work ourselves,” she said.

“Midweek dining has dropped off but weekends are still okay.

“However, being awarded a hat gives (us) personal recognition of all of the hard work which has gone into the restaurant.”

Ms Hawke admits to being “devastated” when she learnt the restaurant had lost its hat rating last year and is pleased to have regained it, particularly with so many hot young chefs making their mark on the industry.

Lolli Redini’s restaurant manager Leah Morphett said it was hard to qualify the value of having a hat, however she was “delighted” with the achievement.

Tonic restaurant at Millthorpe also retained its one hat rating.

The Union Bank Wine Bar took out the Regional Wine List of the Year. Wine Store manager Nick Butler attributed at least some of the business’ success to the support of local wine producers.

“When it comes to the wine list, winemakers like to taste all sorts of weird wine so that allows us to stock a diverse range of wines,” he said.

“They also like to benchmark a wide variety of wines against their own.”