Registration opens: Monteith's Beer & Wild Food Challenge

The hunt is about to get underway for New Zealand's most adventurous and well-matched
Monteith's Beer and Wild Food dish.

Online registrations open Monday 8th March for this year's Challenge which runs from Monday 4th June until Sunday 18th July. Expressions of interest and registrations can be made until Friday 30th April on Monteith's website, www.monteiths.co.nz

Participating outlets are required to create a sensational main using locally sourced wild food matched with a Monteith's beer style. Wild food is defined as "anything not usually raised on a farm". Chefs are encouraged to use fresh ingredients sourced from within 100 kilometres of their kitchen.

The most successful dishes are typically a combination of rare ingredients, unusual cooking methods and exciting presentation. Last year's winner, The Abbey of Auckland, took out the Challenge title with its creative ‘Rudolf the Russian Red Beer' dish - a 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, carefully matched with Monteith's Celtic.

The Monteith's Beer and Wild Food Challenge is now entering its 13th year but the typically unlucky number will only bring good fortune to the overall winner who stands to collect $10,000 in cash and prominent advertising support of their win.

The judging process has also been enhanced for 2010 with diner voting dictating the top 20 finalists who will then be assessed by long-term and highly respected Monteith's Beer and Wild Food Challenge judge, Kerry Tyack.

A cook-off of the final top five entrants will take place in Auckland on Monday 23rd August. Out of town finalists will be transported to Auckland by Monteith's and accommodated overnight.

Consumers will again be rewarded for rating participating restaurants with two complimentary Monteith's which can only redeemed on their next visit to the outlet, encouraging repeat custom. The consumer voting system was introduced last year for the first time and drew a huge number of votes. The system is heavily vetted to prevent manipulation with each voter only allowed to vote once for an outlet.

Monteith's marketing manager, Russell Browne, says the Monteith's Beer and Wild Food Challenge is a valuable revenue driver for operators over the typically quieter winter months and offers operators a real point of difference.

"The Challenge is a great opportunity to strike up a conversation with customers and get them talking about the concept of beer and food matching. We encourage floor staff to learn as much as they can about their restaurant's dish so they can talk enthusiastically and knowledgably to customers about it. Most are really interested to learn how and why the match was created and keen to try something adventurous."

Mr Browne is expecting this year's entries to be up on 2009 thanks to additional promotion of the competition, the enhanced prize package and the increasing prestige of not only winning, but being a finalist.