Armstrong Street South American restaurant Pancho has earned its place among the state's best restaurants, being named in this year's Good Food Guide.
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Pancho joined Ballarat fine-dining restaurants Underbar and Mr Jones Dining on prestigious list after just two years in operation.
Pancho co-owner Simone Baur-Schmid said she and her partner Jose Fernandez only found out they had made the guide after receiving congratulations from customers throughout the day.
"It took a little while to work out what the congratulations were for, we didn't know if it was for the marquee and the outdoor dining and having that back until someone mentioned that it was for being part of the Good Food Guide," she said.
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"It took us very much by surprise and the initial reaction was obviously a bit shocked, but it's a credit to the hard work we've put in for the last two years. It was definitely something great that's happened in the last two years with everything else that's been going on.
"After the last two years it's been with COVID and lockdowns and closures and laying staff off and getting them back in and that sort of thing, it just is a credit to not only us, but also our staff and the great job that they do in terms of our kitchen stuff and our front of house staff as well."
Ms Baur-Schmid said Pancho tried to stick to traditional Latin American and South American food, with dishes from anywhere from Mexico in the north, to Argentina in the south.
"There is a lot of fusion and things like that there, but what we really wanted to do was emulate a real Latin American experience and have that from anywhere from Mexico through to Argentina, from wide range of cultures and bring that all together in a small venue," she said.
"To try and create that experience for people to have, not only that are of Latin American descent to find somewhere that they can have dinner and have that true experience, but also to have that available to people that maybe have never experienced anything like that before."
Ms Baur-Schmid said Mr Fernandez's upbringing, being born in Spain and raised in Argentina, was key to Pancho's success.
"There was always a demand for something Latin American and South American because there are a lot of cultures that go towards South American food, but we wanted to create something not only for Jose to be able to express himself and cook in the way that he used to growing up in Venezuela, but also being able to bring something a little bit different to Ballarat as well," she said.
"We're very much more of a casual dining venue and that's something that we did want to create and focus on, is somewhere that anyone can come and feel comfortable and experience a different type of culture.
"Being named alongside the other ones that are up there like Underbar, it was quite a shock, but it's just recognition for the hard work that we've done and everything that we've worked towards in the last two years."
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