[T2DMan]

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Contact Details:
95-97 Customs Street West Viaduct Harbour
Auckland
Ph. 0-9-377 2720

[T2DMan]

Well done Imperial

per the press release: Auckland Wild Food Winner

Wild venison and eel are the key ingredients of the winning Auckland region dishes in the Monteith’s Beer and Wild Food Challenge.

The Imperial bar in the Viaduct and the Clevedon Hotel win the Informal and Formal Categories respectively in the annual competition which gives diners a Kiwi wild food experience.

The Imperial’s winning wild venison dish called I Deer You is matched with Monteith’s Celtic and takes out the informal award for bars and cafés.

The Monteith’s Beer and Wild Food Challenge is voted by diners and enables them to experience wild cuisine, expertly matched with a craft brew at their local restaurant, café or bar. The Auckland winners now go forward to compete for the national title, to be announced at an awards dinner on October 11.

More than 160 restaurants entered the 2006 competition believed to be the only one of its kind anywhere in the world and now in its ninth year.

Entry criteria in 2006 have been widened to include both formal and informal dining occasions. Convenor of judges Kerry Tyack says the change extends the reach of the competition and makes it easier for pubs and first timers to enter.

“The aim of the Monteith’s Beer and Wild Food Challenge is to educate chefs and diners about the unique taste experiences achieved by beer and food matching and to grow people’s understanding of how beer can accentuate and enhance food,” Mr Tyack says.

Monteith’s brand manager Phillipa Cameron says the beer is expertly matched.
“It’s a complete beer and food matching experience. Beer is an entirely credible match when it comes to complementing cuisine; in fact on some occasions it’s more appropriate to match food with beer, rather than wine,” Ms Cameron says.

“Monteith’s is a craft beer range with brews to suit even the wildest meal and occasion.”

The Auckland Region winner was:

Informal category: The Imperial (Viaduct Harbour) with I Deer You comprising seared wild venison on Etheopian spices, tomato and brown lentil stew on feta and pumpkin slices in a filo pastry mask and matched with Monteith’s Celtic craft beer.

New Zealand’s longest running beer and food matching / wild cuisine competition is competed for in eight regions over three weeks in Auckland, Wellington, Hamilton, Tauranga, Christchurch, Dunedin, Queenstown, and West Coast.

The Monteith’s Beer and Wild Food Challenge began on July 23 in the North Island and July 30 in the South Island. The Challenge concluded on Sunday 13 August in the North and the following Sunday 20 August in the South Island.