Tegel Creates A Quick Roast

15 Minute Roast Chicken

Tegel Creates A Quick Roast

In a first for Australasia, Tegel has created a chicken roast that people can enjoy any night of the week. It can be cooked in the microwave in just 15 minutes and still retains that good old fashioned oven roast taste.

Produced to meet consumer demand for products which are quick to cook but tasty and healthy as well, Tegel's Quick Roast(tm) range consists of whole chickens and chicken drumsticks which are precooked and are specifically designed to be reheated in the microwave for just 15 and 8 minutes respectively.

Tegel says Quick Roast(tm) took 18 months to develop and involved extensive research and development and consumer testing.

Tegel Category Manager Cooked and Smoked, Christine Taylor, said, "Chicken consumption is growing and reached a record 35.7 kilograms per person for the 12 months to March 2003*. So not only are people eating more chicken but consumer research shows us they also have less time to cook. As a company Tegel is looking to anticipate and identify trends, and with our Quick Roast(tm) range, we are offering our customers a new level of convenience and speed.

"It makes the delicious roast chicken meal an every day option.

"The Quick Roast(tm) whole chicken and chicken drums are nothing like the pale microwave products of yesteryear but have golden skins and are fantastically moist and tender.

"And for those who want to put some chicken on the barbie, it has never been easier, Quick Roast(tm) chicken drumsticks can be cooked on the barbie or under the grill in a few minutes resulting in a tasty and nutritious snack or meal.

"There are many misconceptions about reheating chicken and we believe that one of our biggest challenges is giving consumers the confidence to try such a meal option, when normally chicken takes longer to cook. Quick Roast(tm) products have been thoroughly tested in both factory and home to ensure they meet the highest standards of food safety. This means that when you heat them through in the microwave, they are golden, tasty and perfectly safe to eat.

Tegel Managing Director, Bruce Scott, said "Tegel understands that for today's busy consumer, convenience is key but not at the compromise of health or taste. We need to supply our customers with products that make life easier and provide a tasty meal the whole family will love. People don't have as much time to cook and we have recognised this and are providing them with products that are ready to put straight in the oven or microwave.

"The fact that Tegel has successfully produced so many other innovative products will help give consumers the confidence they require. For example, "chicken bacon" has been extremely well accepted by the market, as has Ready To Roast(tm), chicken sausages and our range of frozen added value products."

Tegel's Quick Roast(tm) range will be available throughout New Zealand supermarkets from early November.

 Tegel Backgrounder: Tegel Foods is New Zealand’s biggest selling poultry brand, and is enjoying a strong period of growth led by innovation and product development Tegel is committed to driving growth by entering new categories such as (the breakfast market - chicken bacon, sausages) and developing new value added products (honey smoked chicken, Ready to Roast, crumbed stuffed fillets) which are suited to consumers busy lifestyles Tegel’s product range includes fresh, frozen and cooked whole chickens; fresh and frozen chicken portions; fresh and frozen value added products; whole turkeys and turkey portions; and a range of serve over deli products

 All fresh Tegel turkey portions and Tegel chicken breast fillets thigh fillets and drumsticks carry the National Heart Foundation's ‘Tick’ of approval which means they have less than 10% fat and less than ½ gram of salt per 100 grams

 Poultry accounted for 36.2 percent of total meat consumption and reached a record 35.7 kilograms per person for the 12 months to March 2003 Tegel chickens and turkeys, like all poultry grown for meat consumption in New Zealand, are not genetically modified and there are no added hormones

 Tegel is a fully integrated poultry producer involved in breeding, hatching, feeding, growing, processing and marketing of chicken and turkey in New Zealand All fresh and frozen Tegel chicken is produced using non-GE crops in the feed. Where necessary Tegel incurs substantial costs to ensure its suppliers source materials from non GE crops and it uses identity preservation programmes to minimise cross contamination with GE materials Tegel operates three modern poultry processing sites – in Auckland, New Plymouth and Christchurch. It has a range of complementary activities including feed mills, hatcheries and an animal products operation

 Tegel Foods began operations as a department of General Foods Corporation in 1966 and now employs over 1200 staff

 Tegel is part of the Heinz-Wattie group of companies, owned by multi-national food producer HJ Heinz Co.

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