Matt Moran travels around New England as part of the Perfect Plate Competition with Clubs NSW

Moran was joined by former Master Chef contestant and television host Courtney Roulston.

The pair are ambassadors for the Perfect Plate Competition run by Clubs NSW and travelled to venues at Armidale, Glen Innes and Inverell on July 6.

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It is a way for chefs to elevate local food by entering a favourite dish.

Moran, who was born at Tamworth, is a fourth-generation farmer and still owns a farm in the NSW Central Tablelands.

He can often be seen on television and has been a judge on the popular Great Australian Bake Off and Master Chef.

Moran said he is more of a commentator than a judge with the public voting on the Perfect Plate Competition.

"I'm a country boy at heart, I've owned a farm near Bathurst for nearly 20 years," he said.

"It's nice to meet chefs in the country and see what the clubs are doing with their food.

"It's been quite some time since I've been to Armidale, so it's exciting to explore the whole region.

"Simplicity isn't a bad thing and it's good to see people using seasonal products.

"The lamb at Inverell was locally sourced from nearby towns and it was fantastic."

The New England venues participating in the competition are Armidale City Bowling Club, Armidale Ex Services Memorial Club, Glen Innes District and Services Club and Inverell Sporties.

"These clubs are diverse and it's great people are going there for the food and other types of entertainment," Mr Moran said.

"Inverell Sporties had bingo for kids and I thought that was really cool.

"This whole thing has been a lot of fun, I've had a great lamb curry at Broken Hill and phenomenal Asian style pork belly at Bankstown.

"So there is plenty of talent out there across the whole state."

The 13 clubs that receive the highest average score for their dishes based on patron ratings will be crowned the winner of their respective region.

There will also be three state-wide winners announced in the small, medium and large club categories.

Ms Roulston said she has enjoyed being back in clubs across the state.

She began her career at her beloved "Bowlo" in Putney, which she went on to manage for 11 years.

"Club food has come such a long way in the last 10 years or so - there are hatted chefs working in club kitchens and club restaurants that are consistently booked out every weekend," she said.

"(They) are the lifeblood of their communities. During floods and bushfires, it's often the local club stepping up as an evacuation centre and looking after those in need."

Visit https://perfectplate.com.au/ for a full list of participating venues.

Voting closes on July 9.

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