Visa Wellington On a Plate co-director Sarah Meikle says entries into the second serving of the competition have increased 52%, with 50 eateries throughout the region bidding for the coveted title this year.
“The chefs have got very creative this year and are really celebrating the focus on Wellington regional ingredients; the competition is going to be tight.”
Wellington’s restaurants have proved as creative with concept as they are with flavour. Bisque on Bolton is serving Paua for the People while The Courtenay Establishment has lined up a Double Coronary Burger. Wairarapa’s Bar Salute is hoping for the sweet taste of success with the Salute Dessert Burger – a banana and kaffir line ‘patty’ with candied persimmon, coconut, mango and char-grilled pineapple on Cottage Lane ciabatta, with chunky cinnamon sugared ‘fries’. In a controversial move, Miramar’s Café Polo has re-entered its highly popular founding entry, The Polly Burger, featuring Zany Zeus ricotta and goat’s cheese fritter with spiced beetroot, hummus and toasted walnuts in a sesame seed bun, with onion rings and hand-cut truffled fries.
Having recovered from the mass influx of burger lovers that saw their weekly meat order to Waikanae Butchery increase threefold, inaugural winner Lembas Café reckons it has ‘a really good crack at winning it again’. Owner Gail Lewis says this year’s entry - This Little Piggy Went to Lembas – repeats the 2010 award-winning Lembastic burger’s focus on simple ingredients and a Kiwiana style.
The Waikanae free range, slow-cooked pork belly with a puha and apple salsa and rainbow coleslaw in Brooklyn Turkish Bread will come served with crackling instead of fries.
“People have already been coming in saying they can’t wait to try it – come Friday we are going to be prepared.”
Burger Wellington 2011 finalists will be decided by consumer text vote, with a judging panel then ruling this year's winner of the Battle of the Burger – to be announced on Monday 5 September.
View a full list of Burger Wellington entries.
How to vote:
Try one, try them all – whatever you do, make sure you let us know what you think.
Text the name of the eatery and your rating out of 10 (10 being the highest rating) to 8552* e.g. Simon's Bistro 9. *Standard text charges apply. The eatery with the highest average score wins the glory and voters go in the draw to win an iPad 2.
Background
:: Positively Wellington Tourism (regional tourism organisation) and Grow Wellington (regional economic development agency) established the Visa Wellington On a Plate festival in 2009 to showcase the region’s food and beverage sector, and to develop culinary tourism in the region. The two organisations plan and market the event in liaison with the food sector and hospitality industry.
:: Visa Wellington On a Plate 2011 runs from August 5-21.
