West Coasters get ready for wild food challenge

WEST COAST HOSPITALITY TOGETHER FOR INAUGURAL CHALLENGE OPEN DAY

Over 30 Restauranteurs, chefs, bar and café owners and their staff from all over the West Coast of the South Island met in Greymouth yesterday to register their keeness to participate in the region’s first Monteith’s Wild Food Challenge.

The Monteith’s Wild Food Challenge’s Open Day attracted outlets from as far north as Karamea and as far south as Haast to discover more about the inaugural competition, what it takes to participate and the $5000 worth of cash and prizes up for grabs.

Held at the Monteith’s Brewery the Open Day also involved attendees taking a complementary tour of the Brewery, which is currently being remodeled, and tastings of the five Monteith’s beer styles.

Well-known beer and food aficionado, and Challenge Convenor of Judges, Kerry Tyack, was also on hand to provide attendees with Monteith’s and wild food matching tips. The West Coast Monteith’s Wild Food Challenge will take place from November 1 to 30 this year and it will be the first time the national competition has been held in the region.

Member of the Monteith’s marketing team, Margie Butterworth, says Monteith’s is delighted to extend the successful food and beer matching concept to the West Coast.

“The national Challenge has now be run for five years and we think we have got the formula right,” Margie says.

“The competition provides a good opportunity for the brand to assist in driving foot-traffic into the participating outlets, and of course a large focus for us for the West Coast Challenge is to drive tourism to the region,” she says.

The Monteith’s Wild Food Challenge involves restaurants and bars entering a two-course meal, pairing an array of wild food with one of the five Monteith’s beer styles; Monteith’s Black Beer; Monteith’s Celtic Beer; Monteith’s Pilsner Beer; Monteith’s Original Ale and Monteith’s Golden Lager.

An independent panel of judges marks each outlet according to food, service, and the overall beer and food match. Marks are also awarded for the level of ‘spirit’ restaurant staff have for the event including how they bring the Challenge to life, such as the ‘wild’ names they give their dishes.

The Challenge offers restaurants and cafes the opportunity to test their culinary skills and creativity by ‘going wild’.

The overall winning restaurant will receive a prize package valued at $5000, which includes cash, advertising, Monteith’s beer and merchandise.

The national Monteith’s Wild Food Challenge has completed its fifth year and is recognised as a reputable competition nation wide. It celebrates the coming together of great cuisine and the quality beers of New Zealand’s most popular craft beer, Monteith’s.

The aim of the Monteith’s Wild Food Challenge showcase the practice of beer and food matching, providing consumers with a variety of ways to enjoy Monteith’s, and encourage the wider public to try matching when dining out and also in the home.

Further more information can be obtained by calling the Monteith’s Wild Food Challenge hotline, 0800 Monteiths (0800 666 834), or visit the website, http://www.monteiths.co.nz

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