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7NEWS Young Achiever Awards - RiverBank Estate Restaurant Finalists Announced!
The Finalists have been selected for the Riverbank Estate Restaurant Food and Beverage Excellence Award in the 7NEWS 2022 Young Achiever Awards. The Awards aim to encourage, acknowledge and reward the achievements and valuable contribution young individuals make in their local communities.
The Finalists are:
- Emily Jones, Republic of Fremantle, 27 of Orelia
- Mix Haus, 29 of Perth
- Jiann Woei Yeo, Balthazar, 23 of Perth
Emily Jones, 27 of Orelia is the Head Chef at Republic of Fremantle. She has developed an eclectic menu of small share plates and Aperitivo-style snacks to complement their signature cocktail list. Emily previously worked at a three-Michelin star restaurant in Norway but returned due to the pandemic. In 2021, Emily was awarded Young Chef of the Year at the 2021 WA Good Food Guide Awards…
Mix Haus, 29 of Perth is a not-for-profit organisation that supports womxn in hospitality, with a mission to create an inclusive and safe platform. In their first twelve months, they have launched a fundraising event on International Women’s Day and raised over $15,000. They have hosted events that placed womxn in the spotlight, including guest panel sharing their experiences, wine scholarships, wine training events and more…v
Jiann Woei Yeo, 23 of Perth is a chef de partie at Balthazar. He moves into all areas of the kitchen and can lead and direct junior staff. Jiann likes to analyse aspects of his section’s prep and evolves processes to make them easier to delegate to junior team members. By delegating, inspiring and leading his junior team members, Jiann is able to instil the fundamentals in them…
Riverbank Estate is proud of its heritage of producing quality wine and delivering outstanding food through its Restaurant and catering. Restaurant Food and Beverage Excellence Award is seeking nominations from young people committed to providing Western Australia with food, shelter and produce. It may be a chef, cook, sommelier, restaurant manager, dietician, farmer, viticulturalist or someone in Primary Industries dedicated to providing outstanding Food and Beverages or producing quality local produce. The Riverbank Estate Restaurant Food and Beverage Excellence Award will recognise our young people who have a passion to deliver quality food, drink and produce.
The Finalists will be presented and Winners announced at an Awards Gala Presentation Dinner to be held at Pan Pacific Perth on Friday evening 27th May 2022. Great prizes are up for grabs with each category winner receiving over $3,000 in prizes, plus a trophy.
One of the nine category winners will be chosen as the 2022 Western Australian Young Achiever of the Year and will receive al state trophy.
All Finalists will go into the Catholic Education Western Australia People’s Choice Award, which is run through our Facebook page; “7NEWS Young Achiever Awards WA”. Please ensure you like our page and vote for your favourite Finalist. The winner will be announced at the Awards Gala Presentation Dinner and will receive a $500 Visa gift card, courtesy of Catholic Education Western Australia.
Community members including friends and colleagues of each Finalist are invited to share this special occasion. Tickets are $150.00 each which includes a three-course meal, beverages and entertainment. Tickets can be easily purchased online by visiting www.youngachieverawards.com, clicking WA, then clicking on the “purchase tickets” icon.
For further information about our other Finalists or purchasing tickets please feel free to contact the Awards Office on 9201 1155.
Congratulations and good luck to all Finalists.
Mandurah's Asha Holland recognised at 7NEWS Young Achiever Awards - for the RiverBank Estate Health and Wellbeing Award
Mandurah's Asha Holland recognised at 7NEWS Young Achiever Awards - sponsored by RiverBank Estate - Mandurah Mail 08 06 21 - Claire Sadler
Asha Holland has been recognised for leading the charge in a body and self confidence movement for girls not just in the Peel region, but across Australia.
At just 24-years-old she made it as a finalist in the RiverBank Estate Restaurant Health and Wellbeing Awardat the 7NEWS Young Achiever Awards.
Ms Holland founded Alternatively Healthy to convey the message that what we see on the outside tells us absolutely nothing about how "healthy" someone is.
Through workshops she combines her knowledge of the female body with her own personal experience when she suffered from an eating disorder, body dysmorphia and extreme perfectionism in her teens.
With hundreds of nominations, Ms Holland was selected as finalist in the award from a strong field of young achievers.
In an Instagram post, she said the award wasn't about her but about every single person that is a part of the Alternatively Healthy community.
"It's about every single one of the girls who has been brave enough to share her story, who has gained more confidence than she knew possible, who now looks in the mirror and says 'thank you body', instead of putting it down, who now feels more worthy than she did before," Ms Holland said.
"This award is for the girls who come to our events alone, nervous and anxious. The girls who share their insecurities, despite being scared.
"This award is for the teachers, parents, coaches and leaders who believe in our message and our mission and know that giving their girls the gift of self-love is the greatest thing they'll ever do.
"While this journey started as just me, it's now so much more than that. It's a community. And it's because of every single person in it, that we're able to change as many lives as we are."
Over 350 guests gathered from across the state to celebrate WA's young achievers.
RiverBank Estate Winery and Restaurant re-opens on 20th May with new Executive Chef and exciting Modern Mediterranean food and wine focus.
RiverBank Estate Winery and Restaurant has been a must visit venue of the Swan Valley food and wine scene for many years. Just prior to the current restrictions the Lembo family, owners of RiverBank Estate since 2017, were delighted to announce the appointment of their new Executive Chef, Kiren Mainwaring, who brings a wealth of experience in the Swan Valley and an exciting new Mediterranean and locally sourced produce focus to the restaurant. Owner, Eric Lembo has confirmed that the restaurant will open in line with phase two restrictions on Wednesday 20th May with two sittings per day at 11am and 1.30pm for 20 guests each.
Welsh born Kiren Mainwaring joins RiverBank Estate after recently owning Co-op Dining in East Perth and Dear Friends in the Swan Valley. His reputation and philosophy toward his food is championing small local producers and sourcing the best the region has to offer. His menus have been awarded for their innovation and quality. Combine this focus on produce with access to an on-site dry ager, aging local farmed Western Australian beef for up to 90 days, inhouse cured continental meat cabinets, live fish tanks containing sustainably caught Western Australian yabbies, marron, crayfish and fish, and an in-house smoker, you can be guaranteed the menu will inspire, excite and satisfy.
(Image: Digby Leddin, Kiren Mainwaring and Eric Lembo)
“I am very happy to be back in the Swan Valley as it’s a region close to my heart. I’m excited to utilize all the fantastic equipment here at Riverbank Estate. The menu will be modern Mediterranean influenced with a focus on bringing family and friends together. Freshness and simplicity with inhouse cured and smoked premium meats, aged beef and Cappretto, and live shellfish. We will have a strong emphasis on food and wine matching. We have some seriously good wines here and with my background in degustation we will have a lot of fun” explains Mainwaring.
It has been an interesting few months for Kiren and the kitchen team at RiverBank Estate. The temporary closure of the restaurant came just weeks after he joined the team, but owner Eric Lembo was determined to keep the kitchen team employed, so diverted them into the vineyard, working under the watchful eye of Senior Winemaker Digby Leddin. Kiren says the opportunity to work in the vineyard has provided him a far greater understanding of the terroir of the estate and respect for the wine produced. “Even getting into the winery and on the bottling line was fun and gave me an appreciation for the work that goes into producing every bottle of wine”.
At Riverbank Estate the cellar door, winery and restaurant have taken out many awards over the past few years. These include:
- Most Successful Producer plus multiple trophies at the 2019 Singapore Airlines Swan Valley Wine Show
- Multiple 94+ pointed wines from James Halliday and Huon Hooke of The Real Review
- Winner at the WA Gold Plate Awards for Best Restaurant in a Winery from 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and the Prix d’Amour Hall of Fame for winning three years in a row.
- Best Small Cellar Door & Cellar Door Experience in 2019 and 2020 – Gourmet Traveller WINE Magazine
- Best Small Producer – Ray Jordan’s WA Wine Guide 2019
The winery is led by Senior Winemaker, Digby Leddin who joined in 2017 and has been instrumental in driving the success of the wines since. Leddin has spent 24 years in the Swan Valley of which two decades where at Lamont’s Winery. He says “Vintage 2020 caps off three consecutive, exceptional harvests for the Swan Valley. The quality of the fruit and the resultant wines is very exciting for both myself as winemaker and the Lembo family! Covid may have temporarily slowed down sales but for RiverBank Estate the reopening of the restaurant will coincide with the launch of our new release wines, the 2018 red blends amongst the highlights”.
Booking can be made in the restaurant by calling (08) 9377 1805.
RIVERBANK ESTATE WINERY AND RESTAURANT:
RiverBank Estate Winery was established in 1988 and has also been operating as a restaurant since 1999. The estate is an award-winning winery with several gold plates and multiple award-winning wines in its portfolio.
The property offers a stunning natural setting on the banks of the Swan complemented by a manicured lawn overlooking the vineyards. The 30-year-old vineyard is comprised of 18 varieties of wine grapes on 30 acres of mature low yielding vines. There is a total of five white varieties : Verdelho, Chenin Blanc, Semillon, Chardonnay and Vermentino , and a total of 12 Red varieties; Tempranillo, Malbec, Grenache, Zinfandel, Sangiovese, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Pinot Noir, Nero D’Avola and Mataro.
The venue features the main structure which can be transformed from a restaurant setting into a stunning wedding and events location. The lawn area is the designated ceremony location and for good reason; overlooking the vineyards, this ceremony spot has 180-degree, panoramic views towards the Swan River and the historical landmark of Woodbridge House.
For media enquiries contact:
Eric Lembo, Owner, 0419 902 244 eric@riverbankestate.com.au
Toni Carlino, Marketing Manager, 0438 612 365 marketing@riverbankestate.com.au
Triple Trophy Win for RiverBank Estate Winery

• Trophy for Best Non-Greater Perth Zone Wine for Eric Anthony Chardonnay 2018
• The Media Award Trophy: Most Successful Producer (highest accumulated points overall) with 3 gold, 5 silver, 11 bronze, and a total of 41 points
• Also achieved the Award for Best Rosé of Show for Rebellious Rosé 2019
• Live tanks of sustainable land-based seafood including Kojonup yabbies, Great Southern marron, Murray River cod and • Western Australian crayfish
• Ageing cabinets with 30-45 day old Western Australian beef
• Italian street food with live music every Sunday from 11AM to 2:30PM
Small Producer of the Year 2019
Click here to read the full April edition of the Swan Magazine.