WA’s best country steak sandwich revealed as North West Brewing Co’s sanga by chef Ats Johanson

An Estonian chef working at Karratha’s first craft brewery has been crowned regional champion at the AHA and Furphy WA’s Best Steak Sandwich Competition. North West Brewing Co.’s head chef Ats Johanson took out the title at Crown Perth on Tuesday with an inventive steak sanga inspired by his love of coffee and whiskey. Beating fellow finalists — Settlers Tavern in Margaret River, Wundowie’s Loosefoot Saloon and the Bolgart Hotel — Johanson’s pub dish was not only the most flavoursome but also had superb structural integrity thanks to his clever use of Turkish bread. North West Brewing Co. charge $31 for the steak sandwich — five or six dollars more than the other finalists’ offerings. Johanson revealed that he uses a coffee rub on a scotch fillet of Reef City Black Angus beef. “We have a coffee machine in the kitchen and I make my steak rub out of the coffee grounds, then I smoke the steak,” he explained. The steak is slathered in jam made out of coffee, whiskey, onion, garlic and pancetta before bacon, lettuce, pickled onion, aioli and two different cheeses (Swiss and “liquid cheddar”) complete the award-winning sandwich. Johanson laughed that the packet liquid cheddar looks “nasty, but it works”. And as for the all-important Turkish bread, that’s from Coles. The triumphant steak sandwich is served with chips and North West Brewing Co.’s house mustard mayonnaise sauce. After going to cooking school in Estonia, Johanson served his apprenticeship aboard cruise liners in the Baltic Sea and worked in Norway. When he came to WA he was shocked by how much money he made working as a chef in a Caltex roadhouse. Johanson has been head chef at North West Brewing Co. since they opened in November 2020. Karratha’s steak sandwich king confessed that he stayed up watching cooking videos to soothe his nerves the night before the final but once he got on stage at Crown Perth he was calm. Even the 12-minute time limit to create his masterpiece did not faze Johanson. “No, no pressure,” he insisted. “The pressure went off because I feel at home in the kitchen. “Once I got on stage that was all fun and games.” North West Brewing Co. co-owner Daniel Scott said the venue had already seen an increase in demand for the steak sandwich thanks to Johanson’s creation making the final. He expected sales to explode in the wake of his win. The AHA and Furphy WA’s Best Steak Sandwich Competition continues at Crown Perth on Wednesday with the Perth metro final featuring the Karalee on Preston in Como, Seven Sins in Roleystone, Canning Vale’s The Last Local and the Byford Tavern.