‘Steaks’ rise in Monteith’s Wild Food Challenge winners

MARCH 4 2002 ~ Monteith’s Brewing Company has upped the stakes for both restaurants and consumers in this year’s Monteith’s Wild Food Challenge by increasing the prize value and introducing a Consumers Choice Award for the first time.

The overall winning restaurant in each of the six Monteith’s Wild Food Challenge regions will receives a prize package valued at $8000, an increase of $1000 from last year, while consumers will get the chance to dine at their favourite Challenge restaurant simply by voting for it.

Monteith’s brand manager, Lisa Dymand says she is delighted to be able to increase the prize package for the winning restaurants and offer a reward for the public.

“The restaurants put such a lot of hard work into planning and preparing their entry dishes for the Challenge which, consequently, raises the quality of the competition each year,” Ms Dymand says. “And Monteith’s wanted to recognise their huge efforts by to upping the prize value.”

The 2002 Monteith’s Wild Food Challenge kicks off in the Capital on May 31, 2002 and involves restaurants and cafes in Auckland, Wellington, Hamilton, Tauranga, Christchurch and Dunedin, entering a two-course meal pairing an array of wild food with one of 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.

A further new element in the 2002 Monteith’s Wild Food Challenge is the addition of a seventh Challenge region ~ the West Coast of the South Island.
The West Coast will run a separate and extended four-week Challenge in both Greymouth and Hokitika in September, due to the higher tourist numbers on the West Coast in the spring.

The Monteith’s Wild Food Challenge is now in 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.

Monteith’s family of beers enjoyed over 20 percent growth last year, making Monteith’s the fastest growing beer brand in the country.

The Monteith’s Wild Food Challenge has played an important put in this success by showcasing the practice of beer and food matching, providing consumers with a variety of ways to enjoy Monteith’s, and encouraging the wider public to try matching when dining out and also in the home.

The Monteith’s Wild Food Challenge takes place over two weeks in each of the six regions and runs in Wellington from May 31 to June 15, in Auckland from June 7 to 22, in Hamilton and Tauranga from June 14 to 29, in Christchurch from June 21 to July 6 and in Dunedin from June 28 to July 13.

Further more information can be obtained by calling the Monteith’s Wild Food Challenge hotline, 0800 Monteiths (666 834), or viewing the Wild Food Challenge information within this site.