The Sydney Morning Herald 2018 Good Food Guide is set to focus exclusively on cuisine served in poker machine lounges across NSW.

The guide will feature a definitive comparison of the food provided at all 3.65 million VIP rooms across the state, with the best to be awarded pyramids instead of chef hats.

“Priority will be given to those who really nail the classics, such as sausage rolls, party pies and spring rolls with sweet chilli sauce,” one food critic said. “VIP chefs who have mastered their defrosting and heating skills will do well.”

The guide comes in response to overwhelming demand from both punters and venues.

“Until now, choosing which lounges to dine in has been a gamble,” one expert said. “VIP-lounge fare is the closest thing Australia has to a national cuisine and it deserves to be taken seriously.”

Spokespersons for VIP rooms are confident ahead of the guide’s release.

“Our food can’t be bad because our customers show up every day. I’m sure that wouldn’t be the case if they didn’t enjoy the food,” VIP room manager Peter Panner said.

“The food really hits the spot,” agreed one regular, who often loses his entire pay packet on the pokies before he can do any grocery shopping. “Sometimes I bring the whole family in just to give them a good feed.”

The Sydney Morning Herald declined to reveal how many VIP lounges were awarded an elusive three-pyramid rating before the book’s launch.