Monteith’s - testing taste buds for ten years

News release Wild - 1
July 10, 2007

Monteith’s - testing taste buds for ten years

Sharpen up your taste buds! The country’s longest-running beer and wild food festival is set to be served up at a restaurant near you again in 2007.

And in the event’s 10th year, the organisers of the Monteith’s Beer & Wild Food Challenge have some great new innovations on the menu.

The challenge for participating restaurants is to create a culinary sensation using a range of wild food. Wild food is defined as anything that is not traditionally raised on a farm.

All recipes must be expertly matched to one of the Monteith’s family of six ‘Classic’ craft brews, including Original Ale, Radler, Golden, Black, Celtic and Pilsner.

Participants will be entered in either the informal or formal categories depending on the type of outlet – restaurants and fine dining establishments in the formal, two-course category and places such as pubs and clubs in the informal single course category.

Innovations in its 10th year see the event expanded to cover 10 regions of New Zealand with 10 restaurants in each region being invited to compete. Last year the event was held in only eight regions and any restaurant or food outlet could enter. Nelson/Marlborough and Thames/Coromandel are the two new regions this year.

The Monteith’s Beer & Wild Food Challenge kicks off in the South island on July 15 and finishes on August 5 while the North Island start and finish dates are a week later respectively.

Challenge convenor of judges Kerry Tyack says the event is a victim of its own success.

“The Monteith’s Beer & Wild Food Challenge really has captured the imagination of Kiwi diners and that’s seen it grown to a huge event over 10 years. We are keen to ensure more and more New Zealanders can get involved so that’s why we’ve decided to expand to 10 regions.

“However, from a management point of view we wanted to ensure we maintain a quality programme, hence the need to invite restaurants to take part.”

Mr Tyack says the new rules mean the best of the best will be competing.

“Wild food is not about eating gross things; it’s about trying something different and about uniquely New Zealand cuisine.”

Eateries in Queenstown, Dunedin, Christchurch, the West Coast of the South island, Nelson / Marlborough, Wellington, Tauranga, Hamilton, Thames / Coromandel and Auckland are being invited to compete.

A national winner in each category is then judged from the regional winners. Last year’s winners were Christchurch’s Alchemy Café & Wine Bar and Hamilton’s Embargo restaurant, who both return for the 2007 competition.

Alchemy entered dishes based on wild hog and rabbit while Embargo’s recipe was based on ostrich, smoked eel and hare.

ends

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