The Gatehouse Ballarat wins Plate Up's winter pasta challenge

Twenty-two restaurants, pubs and cafes offered a special pasta dish on their takeaway menus for three weeks in August as part of the challenge.

Brown Hill Hotel was voted in second place with their rustic Italian meatballs dish and Lola Ballarat came in third place with their spinach fettucine with quattro formaggi and truffle sauce.

Gatehouse Ballarat owner Annmarie Sloane said she felt humbled and grateful to the community for supporting her throughout the challenge and trying a dish that is close to her heart.

The cafe offered traditional Maltese dish Ghagin Zal Zett on its menu for the pasta challenge, one of Ms Sloane's favourite family dishes.

"It is something I have cooked regularly and it was a real joy to be able to include Inglenook Dairy with their product and the local butchers as well," she said.

"I am really passionate about my Maltese heritage. There isn't a lot of Maltese food in Ballarat so I am really excited to bring to the community something that is not there and something that I have grown up with my entire life."

Ms Sloane said Ghagin Zal Zett was a simple dish, but the robust flavour of the Maltese sausage complemented the leek, cream and white wine beautifully.

She said she was inundated with orders last weekend, both from regular customers and an influx of new visitors.

"The pasta challenge has been the greatest community connection event for me. I was really excited to be able to be a part of it, in such a hard time too," Ms Sloane said.

"It was a great initiative to be able to have a platform where people were able to see the different venues that are still open. We are all struggling and we are all in this together."

Ms Sloane closed The Gatehouse in March when COVID-19 restrictions were first implemented.

She has now been able to re-open and move to a takeaway only format, but it has been a tough year for the business that was less than a year old when COVID hit.

The Gatehouse opened in May 2019 after Ms Sloane took over the business from a friend.

"Circumstances had changed in my life where I was able to start again and look at new beginnings," she said.

"Within seven weeks I found myself moving from the eastern suburbs of Melbourne to Ballarat, renovated this building and opened it up with my own style and flair.

"The Gatehouse is the only Gothic and vintage cafe/ venue space in a cemetery in the world."

Ms Sloane said she had brought all her life experiences to the space; her past as a DJ, photographer, creative, vintage stylist, work with additional needs children, her Maltese background and love of cooking.

"To open up something like this was the perfect opportunity for me to have a second lease of life again, as a woman on her own, independent and being able to facilitate all the facets of my personality, everything I have done in my lifetime, my creative side, my education, my styling, my cooking, all in one little beautiful building," she said.

"The Gatehouse is my personality, it is everything about me, it is a safe space for whoever, whatever, all ages, all denominations, everyone is welcome here.

"I have such a diverse and loyal clientele base already in the short amount of time I have been open and I am really humbled and blessed by the community that have not only embraced me, but included me.

"I am really grateful and excited to be part of this Ballarat community. I have felt nothing but love. I have felt so welcome here, I have found my new home."

Commerce Ballarat chief executive Jodie Gillett said the Plate Up Ballarat pasta challenge stimulated around $40,000 worth of pasta sales from August 10 to 30.

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