I have been following the progress of the Burger Competition and have got to say I am seriously impressed with what you guys have cooked up – it sure makes the usual take-away burger look a bit miserable!!! Just goes to show what you can do with great quality ingredients, a heap of thought and commitment to creating something that is totally delicious! Just looking at them makes me what to get the recipes and try them! You are awesome…

I am looking forward to meeting you – (and tasting your creations!) at the Grand Final Competition in Auckland on September 20.

Have a look at the link to see what amazing masterpieces, and talented chefs, that have been discovered in schools throughout the country! Beef + Lamb Burger Finalists

By now you will be getting to the end of your planning and it’s time to reflect on the detail. Actually some of you have already had your competition – but for those of you still going…

Assuming your food is fantastic there are some things that are going to make you and your burger stand out…

• Are you serving your burger on a warm plate to keep it hotter longer?
• I know this sounds like your mother talking – but make sure you fingernails are clean, your clothes are totally clean, your hair is tidy and tied back (a hair in the dish will not get you extra points?!!!)
• Make a detailed list of what you have to take with you – there is NOTHING worse than forgetting either food or utensils – it will get you really stressed!
• Do you look super organised – labelled containers for ingredients, a tidy work station all give a good impression.
• Have a last practice through and check your timing is spot on.

Have fun!! catch up soon…

Years ago my uncle and aunty had a cafe and one of their most popular sellers was their Mountainous Burger. Even now I can remember this – probably because as a family we still make it! But the flavour combination was really really delicious. As the name suggested it was quite a big burger and the key ingredients were a stunning sate sauce, lightly grilled apricot halves and a succulent moist beef burger. This is not overwhelmingly original – but it was overwhelming tasty, cooked to perfection, it was beautifully presented and always left me thinking I’d like that again! That has to be the ultimate test of a good burger – would you buy it, make it or want it again??

So get the feedback – ask your  family and friends what they honestly think of your burger…

I know you will have already but check out the details for the burger competition…

This week was my mum’s birthday and we went to a stunning restaurant in Tauranga and it struck me how we eat twice – first with our eyes and then with our mouth. First impressions count! Put bluntly it has to look good; this restaurant certainly had this mastered – but some just get it ‘wrong’.

So as you are planning keep thinking of what the food will look like on the plate.  Make sure your burger is balanced and not squashed up – I always think it looks classier if there is plenty of room around the food.  It goes without saying that you need to clean up any smudges, dribbles or crumbs on the plate! And when you are selecting your garnish make sure it relates to your recipe… for example don’t use a mint garnish if there is no mint in the dish.

And of courses think about the colours… a striking combination that is interesting and appealing is what you are aiming for! Have fun!

Awesome food  needs to score top points in how it looks, tastes, feels (in your mouth) and smells  – okay you can usually  leave out how it sounds – although it you are talking apples that ‘crunch’ is important!

I’m sure you’ve had food that gets one of the senses ‘wrong’ and it totally puts you off – for an extreme example try eating mashed potato with blue food colouring and you’ll know what I mean.  Less extreme is a food which tastes good, smells good, looks good but when you eat it the texture is wrong -  gritty or crunchy when it shouldn’t be.

In your Burger Planning Pack there is a great chart that helps you assess your burger – sensory evaluation. When I am trying out recipes I always do taste-tests with a few friends and family to get feedback… (We all have different criteria – my recipes have to pass the sensory tests AND be quick and easy to make too.) So do a few variations with your Burger and see which ranks the best – a few tweaks here and there can make all the difference!

Find our more about the Burger competition.

Can you imagine how disgusting you would feel if you cooked up a meal and everyone who ate it ended up vomiting!!! (probably you would end up vomiting too so doubly disgusting!) I’ve made up a few tips ‘what you need to know so your food won’t kill you!’ – most is common sense but you need to protect your reputation as it’s not a good look to serve up food that makes your friends sick – so as a bit of insurance skim over this! The areas that need a bit of focus are the 4 C’s – clean, cook, cover, chill. For those of you gearing up to the Burger Competition  the teachers handbook gives you  specific meat handling tips… a wise person would take their advice on board – don’t want to poison the judges and as I am one of them I’d appreciate you taking note!!??!!!

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When I’ve been doing the research for my cookbooks I learnt that the best way to get ideas was to ask… and I think when you are doing the research for your Burger entry it will be pretty much the same for you.  The It’s My Turn to Cook Tonight project has been a steep learning curve for me, my philosophy is if you don’t know what to do – just ask, and I sure asked a lot of people! I think for you to stand out in this competition you need to talk to a few chefs… most adults are flattered when you ask them for advice. By asking around you are bound to know someone who knows someone who is a good chef. Get some ideas on paper first and take these ideas to them. Ask how they would improve what you are planning – you’ll be amazed at what they might tell you!  It could just give you the edge. Go for it! Talk soon.

Last night for dinner I went all out and I cooked up the winning burger from last years Burger Competition created by Elizabeth Young at Bayfield High School in Dunedin. Wow Elizabeth – that burger was something else!!! I LOVED the flavours of date and coriander in the meat pattie. I must confess that I hadn’t heard of sumac that was used in the dressing – so I had to do a google and work out what I could use instead – I found that is was a ‘ spice with a slightly lemon flavour used in middle eastern cookery’ so I just used more lime and because you used coriander with the meat I figured could use that instead… so even though I didn’t do exactly what Elizabeth did I could see it was see how the favours all worked so well together with Apricot salsa, lamb date and coriander pattie and the sour cream dressing…
I like trying new foods and I like fruit with savoury foods – if this is outside your comfort zone you could play safe – but be bold and give it a go – you might surprise yourself. Here is your chance not to be boring!
For info on the competition check out … http://www.beeflambnz.co.nz/competitions/competitions-burger.html

Hey I am so excited cos I have been asked to be part of the Secondary School Burger Competition – this is really cool because I’m a total Burger fan!!! So each week I will blog away about burgers and hopefully this will help you get inspired and motivated to enter this cool competition!

Last year’s competition had awesome entries – the winning ones sounded so delicious that just reading them sent me racing to the kitchen to try them out!

So what’s a burger??? The competition defines a burger as a sandwich consisting of a cooked pattie of ground or chopped meat, usually in a roll or bun, garnished with various fillings…  So that is pretty loose and gives you heaps of scope – so start thinking of amazing combinations now to create a culinary masterpiece!

So what are you waiting for follow the link and get on with it!http://www.beeflambnz.co.nz/competitions/competitions-burger.html