Kiwis Get into Wild Food Spirit

Foodies from around the country are going wild as they create a wild food dish to enter the first ever Monteith’s Wild Recipe Competition.

For the last three weeks, the boutique brewery has invited those aged over 18 to ‘show their wild side’ and upload their own wild food recipe, matched with a Monteith’s beer or cider, onto the Monteith’s website – www.monteiths.co.nz – before Sunday 18th July.

Already Monteith’s has been blown away by the calibre of dishes entered by budding chefs. There have been entrants from as far North as Whangarei and as far South as Cromwell. There’s even entrants from Great Barrier and Waiheke Islands. It just goes to show that New Zealanders are an adventurous bunch!

To name but a few dishes;

Bendigo Black Beer Stew with Wild Central Otago Goat, matched with Monteith’s Black Beer and entered by Brock Campbell of Cromwell.

“Duck” I said Duck!, matched with Monteith’s Crushed Apple Cider and entered by Catharine Hepworth of Christchurch.

Camp Oven Braised Wild Rabbit, matched with Monteith’s Celtic Red Beer and entered by Joanne Anson of Whangarei.

Parcels of Wildpork and Pate with Mushroom Sauce, matched with Monteith’s Golden Lager and entered by Diane Davidson of Auckland.

Pie to Die for, matched with Monteith’s Black Beer and entered by Clinten Watts of Greymouth.

Wild Boar Sausage wrapped in Beer Pastry, matched with Monteith’s Original Ale and entered by Mandy Miller of Wellington.

There’s still three weeks left to enter, so if you are inspired to show your wild side and give the first ever Monteith’s Wild Recipe Competition a go, here’s some tips:

• Take inspiration from locally grown wild food (anything not raised on a farm) or readily available ‘wild’ ingredients such as venison, rabbit or pork or apples from your neighbors tree!
• Or prepare your dish in a ‘wild’ manner
• Crucial is the Monteith’s beer match and how well it works with your dish

All entrant recipes will be judged by Kerry Tyack, head judge of the annual Monteith’s Beer and Wild Food Challenge (which is only open to professional chefs), and Chef Mark Gregory.
The pair will select three finalists from the recipes entered for the Monteith’s Wild Recipe Competition and create their dishes before determining an overall winner on 30th July.

The person that wins the Monteith’s Wild Recipe Competition will be announced early August and their wild recipe will be created by Chef Mark Gregory during the professional Chef only Monteith’s Beer and Wild Food Challenge cook-off in Auckland on 23 August which the consumer winner (plus one friend) gets to attend as an observer. They will also enjoy dinner for two at The Abbey restaurant (national winner of the 2009 Monteith’s Beer and Wild Food Challenge), accommodation and travel to the City of Sails thanks to Monteith’s. The winner will also feature in a magazine article with a leading food title.

The Monteith’s Wild Recipe Competition runs parallel to the 2010 Monteith’s Beer and Wild Food Challenge. Those that dine at competing Challenge restaurants during this period will be able to garner plenty of inspiration for their own recipes as well as have a large say in who ultimately wins the Challenge by voting for the outlet they dine in.

It’s all about giving it a go and trying something different.

Visit www.montieths.co.nz to upload your wild recipe or for more information.