Club Malua battled against the elements to win a regional award for their steak sandwich

Club Malua were crowned Winner of the Southern Tablelands and Far South Coast Region in the 2022 Perfect Plate awards for their dish 'Dan's Marquee Steak Sandwich'.

The club has been operating out of a temporary marquee since the destruction of the clubhouse in December 2019.

They began cooking up steak sandwiches on the only cooking implement they had - an outdoor barbecue - for their members on Friday nights to maintain community while rebuilding the clubhouse. As the popularity of the dish grew, they began offering it on the menu permanently.

The sandwich was named after club Malua customer service manager Daniel Thornton. He took over the cooking when the former head chef left earlier this year.

"It was a battle in the rain, the wind and the wet on the barbecue," he said.

"It began as just something to keep our members connected.

"We were doing it for all the members."

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He said there was no secret to the perfect steak sandwich - it just had to be made with "a whole lot of love" for the members who were going to eat it.

The competition is run by Clubs NSW, with any club across the state able to submit a dish. 153 clubs entered in 2022.

Over the course of a month, patrons who purchase a club's entered dish receive a QR code on their receipt, which allows them to rate the dish out of five stars.

The dish with the best average score across the state is crowned champion.

Mr Thornton received the award at a celebratory event in Sydney on July 21.

Though the winning sandwich is still on the menu, Mr Thorton said the recipe had changed with the opening of the new clubhouse in July.