Chefs Converge In Wellington For ‘Wild’ Cook Off

Chefs Converge In Wellington For ‘Wild’ Cook Off

Chefs have a reputation for sometimes getting hot under the collar but finalists in a national cooking competition have good reason to be ‘wild’.

Six chefs from across New Zealand will go ‘knife to knife’ in Wellington on Monday 10th August in order to find the 2009 Monteith’s Beer and Wild Food Challenge winner.

Around 120 nationwide restaurants entered this year’s competition which is designed to find the perfect wild food and Monteith’s beer match. The Challenge has been running for 12 years but this year entrants had to create just one main dish using two wild food ingredients sourced from within a 100km radius of their restaurant. Their unique meal was paired with one of eight Monteith’s beers and offered to diners alongside standard menu items.

Close to 6500 diners visited the competing restaurants during June and July, voting on the dishes and enjoying the unique experience that Monteith’s has skillfully created. The public’s favourite entrants were also assessed by Monteith’s convenor of judges, Kerry Tyack, who had his own challenge of whittling down the leading contenders to six finalists. Joining Kerry at the cook-off will be a respected panel of restaurant critics including Al Brown of Logan Brown restaurant in Wellington and award-winning food writer and food expert Margaret Brooker.

The final six are:
Loading Ramp
Address: 6 Treachers Lane, Havelock North, Napier
Phone: (06) 877 6820
Dish description: Cheeky Little Prick: Pilsner-steamed clams & grilled hapuku cheeks served with a Pilsner- infused kina roe dip and garnished with local watercress.
Beer Match: Monteith's Pilsner
Chef: Daryle Schlierike

Mount Bistro
Address: 6 Adams Avenue, Mt Maunganui, Tauranga
Phone: (07) 575 3872
Dish description:Wild Winter Thyme; Beer & a Hot Bird!: Seared ostrich fillet rubbed with flax seed & chestnut dukkah on warm winter salad, with Monteith’s
Doppelbock, phoenix & ostrich pie.
Beer Match: Monteith's Doppelbock Winter Ale
Chef: Stephen Barry

St John’s Restaurant
Address: 5 Cable Street, Wellington
Phone: (04) 801 8017
Dish description:Hare in Wellington: Hare backstrap with a wild mushroom duxelles & duck pate wrapped in pastry, cooked medium rare, served with wild berry jus and manuka honey roasted baby beets.
Beer Match: Monteith's Celtic
Chef: Kit Foe

The Abbey Bar & Restaurant
Address: 510 Great South Rd, Greenlane, Auckland
Phone: (09) 524 6190
Dish description: Rudolf the Russian Red Beer: Lavender crusted venison rack with a taro and green banana filled apple, red currants, goat’s cheese and golden kumara soufflé and maple poached Jerusalem artichokes.
Beer Match: Monteith's Celtic
Chef: Eugene Sokolovoski

The Porch Kitchen & Bar
Address: 23 Wilson Road, Waihi Beach, Bay of Plenty
Phone: (07) 863 1330
Dish description: You Cheeky Cow: Slow braised beef cheeks marinated in red wine and Monteith's Celtic Red, a prosciutto and prune sauce, potato gnocchi and a beetroot and horopito relish.
Beer Match: Monteith's Original
Chef: Brad King

Wineglass Café
Address: Sargood Drive, Wanaka
Phone:(03) 443 8311
Dish description: There's a hare in my pie!: Wild Otago hare & beer pie, smoked rabbit sausage & confit leg.
Beer Match: Monteith's Doppelbock Winter Ale
Chef: Damon McGinniss

The 2009 Monteith’s Beer and Wild Food Challenge cook-off will take place at The Bistro, Wellington Institute of Technology (Weltec), 11 Kensington Ave, Petone.

The format for the day is as follows:

• Cooking by finalists: 1.00pm – 2.00pm
• Judging: 2.00pm – 3.00pm
• Winner Announcement: 4.00pm

For more information visit www.monteiths.co.nz

ENDS

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