WA's Best Steak Sandwich Competition: JunHwi Heo from the Treendale Farm Hotel takes out country category
But Mr Heo — the head chef at Treendale Farm Hotel — proved his unique recipe had what it takes to hand the Australind pub back-to-back titles.
The country category winner of the Australian Hotels Association WA and Little Creatures WA's Best Steak Sandwich competition was lost for words after his creation won the coveted crown.
'The last couple of weeks I couldn't go to bed, I was really stressed and nervous, but now I can go to bed,' he said.
'There's nothing more that I can say to express my emotion right now, I'm just so happy.'
He said his decision to steer away from traditional ingredients 'really paid off'.
'I tried to make a different type of steak sandwich,' Mr Heo said.
'I used no fresh tomato, no rocket, no usual stuff,
'I focused on a rich smokey flavour, there is a side sauce for the chips that has smoked onion in it.
'And another stand out was the kimchi relish, which means that it's a little bit of Asian style so it was a little bit spicy.'
Mr Heo's winning sanga also featured a Turkish roll, South West black Angus scotch fillet, two slices of cheddar cheese, Rocky Ridge homemade BBQ sauce and sweet and spicy mayo.
It was served with smoked pickled onion coleslaw, crumbed green bean and chips.
Last year, The Treendale Farm Hotel's chef Gayan Dilruk Geeeganage's winning sandwich contained scotch fillet steak, cheddar cheese, bacon jam, aioli, Beerfarm pale ale brined crispy onions, rocket, tomato, and pickles, served with chips and a herb and mustard dipping sauce.
The pub has made more than 450 steak sandwiches a week since last year's win and visitors from far and wide are expected to keep rolling through to try its latest winning sanga
But Mr Heo is not resting on his laurels and is already excited to get started on a recipe for next year.
'This means a lot for our restaurant, it is a really big celebration for us,' he said.
'I can't wait to keep pushing and creating for next year with my Sou chef.'
The Treendale Farm Hotel was up against The Miners Rest Motel in Kalgoorlie, Margaret River's Settlers Tavern and the Exchange Hotel in Pinjarra.
Each chef had 13 minutes to make two steak sandwiches, one for the judges and one for the audience.
The winning steak sandwich was worth $34 — the most expensive of the lineup — and took the longest to make. Mr Heo finished cooking with just seconds to spare.
The drooling audience celebrated loudly as his steak sizzled on the grill and salivated as Mr Heo's sandwich was passed through the crowd.
Judges were asked to assess each sandwiches presentation, originality, chips, sauces, flavour, value for money, and most importantly, the meat's tenderness.
AHA WA executive officer Bradley Woods was one of four judges who agreed the 'fangability' of the sandwich was crucial.
''Fangability' is the tear factor, you don't want the sandwich to fall apart when you bite into it,' he said.
'I also don't want sauce running down my hands, the chefs have to balance everything just right.'
Mr Woods said the annual competition puts not just the winner but all competitors 'on the map'.
'The great West Australian steak sandwich competition is alive and well in our country pubs,' he said.
'All the chefs did an amazing job and I congratulate them all.'
The competition — which has been running for 18 years — was held inside the Crown Towers ballroom as part of the 2025 AHA hospitality expedition.
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