News bites: everyone’s a winner, baby

30th April 2021 | Eativity editors

Got kitchen skills? Think you’ve got what it takes to be a world champion? Now Australian home cooks have the chance to go head to head against the best of the best at the world’s largest food sport event, which has come Down Under for the first time.

For foodies who’d prefer to just watch stressed out people cooking tricky things, MasterChef is heading to the Northern Territory to showcase the region’s unique culinary ingredients and experiences, with locals hoping it will help boost tourism.

And for those who still want to win something but don’t feel like doing anything particularly strenuous, the Tim Tam Genie has returned, and will be granting wishes three to lucky chocolate biscuit-lovers in Australia and New Zealand.

Finally, an Aussie husband and wife have come up with an ingenious way to cut down on plastic and food waste at the same time, producing an environmentally-friendly kitchen staple from a solar-powered factory in Melbourne. Talk about winners.

Pressure cooker: this competition ain’t for sissies.

World Food Championship launches in Australia

The world’s largest “food sport” event is coming to Australia, giving home cooks across the country the chance to compete head-to-head across 10 categories: Pork, Barbecue, Burger, Seafood, Game Meat, Vegan, Chicken, Lamb, Beef and Pasta.

Two competitors across the Seafood, Burger and BBQ categories will also have the chance to win a “Golden Ticket” to the 2022 World Food Championships in Dallas, Texas, where they’ll be cooking off against hundreds of competitors from around the world.

Since the World Food Championships debuted in 2012, the event has awarded more than $1.5 million in prize money and has produced 30 TV food stars. This is the first year the event has come to Australia, and it will be running alongside the Love Cooking Show Live and the Cake Bake & Sweets Show in Melbourne and Sydney.

For more information and to register, head to worldfoodchampionship.com.au

MasterChef judges Jock Zonfrillo, Melissa Leong and Andy Allen behind the scenes in the NT.

MasterChef to showcase culinary gems in the NT

In more fiercely competitive food news, the Northern Territory’s culinary delights are set to take centre stage in one of Australia’s top food shows, with confirmation that two MasterChef episodes featuring the Red Centre will go to air later this year.

Production is currently underway for episodes featuring Territory icons in Uluru and Simpson’s Gap. The episodes are set to showcase phenomenal NT dining experiences, including an under-the-stars cooking challenge at Bruce Munro’s Field of Light.

MasterChef contestants will be further tested with a quintessentially Territorian bush food cooking experience featuring Raylene Brown from Kungkas Can Cook.

“These MasterChef episodes will broadcast elite dining experiences in the Northern Territory to a national audience,” says NT Minister for Tourism and Hospitality Natasha Fyles. “MasterChef fans are hungry for food experiences which are a little bit different, and that is exactly what they will find in the Northern Territory.”

An architect and former winemaker have teamed up to tackle waste.

Australian-made planet-friendly cling wrap

Here’s a scary fact for you: in Australia alone, we go through 150,000 tonnes of cling wrap each year. This huge amount of plastic ends up in landfill, or in our oceans, leaching harmful chemicals into the environment and causing harm to marine life.

Husband and wife duo Jordy and Julia Kay have come up with a safer, kinder solution, creating Australia’s first certified home-compostable cling wrap made from food waste, Great Wrap. Unlike biodegradable products that break down into microplastics, Great Wrap breaks down into carbon and water in fewer than 180 days when placed in a compost pile. It’s also marine biodegradable, meaning it will break down in the ocean.

The wrap is made by diverting food waste from landfill and converting it into the main raw ingredient. The majority of the cling wrap is made from potato waste products, and the remaining materials are all certified compostable, although the team is actively working towards a 100 percent food waste product by the end of 2021.

Great Wrap certified home-compostable cling wrap is now available to buy online at greatwrap.co. Direct to consumer, wholesale and a subscription model are available.

What would you wish for? Apart from world peace, of course.

Golden chance to win three wishes

The search is on for one of three golden packets of Tim Tam biscuits as the Tim Tam Genie returns to grant some wishes for biscuit lovers across Australia and New Zealand.

The Tim Tam 3 Wishes promotion kicks off this Sunday, May 2, and runs until June 26, with more than $300,000 in prizes up for grabs. This chocolate treasure hunt will have Aussies and Kiwis looking for three special packets that contain gold-coated Tim Tam biscuits, which are also edible. The lucky trio will each win three wishes to be granted by the Tim Tam Genie, up to a total value of $100,000 AUD. The Tim Tam Genie will also be giving away $100 every hour for the duration of the promotion.

To enter, all you need to do is buy any specially-marked pack of Tim Tam biscuits during the competition dates and enter your details online at timtam3wishes.com