Sunday 20 April 2014

Press Release! The 'Great Australian BBQ' Comp

'A Recipe for Disaster'?

Local Butchers' wife Monika Courtney, from 'Courtney's Quality Meat', teamed up with  a customer Jeff Ram, Photographer, & Justin Pickering, Butcher, to enter "The Great Australian BBQ"  Competition.  

A brainchild of Simon Dell & Emma from Two Cents, the competition was formulated to bring Awareness of Meals on Wheels Activities. 
Meals on Wheels not only provide daily meals to the Elderly,  but recipients include, people with disabilities & returning home from hospital. Their Clients not only receive their nutritious, balanced meal, but a Daily Knock on the Door & a Friendly Smile from a Volunteer, sometimes the ONLY friendly face they'll see. 

When asked why Monika, from Courtney's Quality Meat , got involved, her motivated response was, " we'll there's a movement going round now, 'pay it forward' or when you go to a coffee shop, someone has paid for a coffee to treat a stranger, so I figure if we do the same for ' Meals on Wheels' someone who is struggling this week, will receive the same surprise & feeling that someone cares & I love a challenge". 

How did you come about choosing your team? Well Justin was an obvious choice as he Loves cooking & coming up with new ideas in the shop, ( Justin works as a fully qualified butcher with us), his enthusiasm & excitement, definitely fitted the bill. We have many customers that love cooking & would have been great for the team, so when Jeff walked into the Butcher Shop, I asked if he would be interested in joining our team. 

With a mixture of family cultures & ideas, we came up with our Signature dishes! As the rules changed, the pressure grew! What started out as a BBQ Cookoff at Southbank, with 6 teams & judges, hosts, turned into a television production. 
Reality hit, I planned a schedule, wrote lists, we had some joint practises with a panel of friends for opinions. We chose recipes we thought interesting, local & with a Twist! Using local Queensland produce.

Our Signature dish for Seafood was ' Queensland Bush Tucker with an Asian Twist'.  Alistair McLeod  asked " Why are you cooking something you've only cooked Twice"? My response was, " We wanted to do something different"! 
I'm not giving away our other signature dishes, as you'll need to watch ' The Great Australian BBQ ' airing in May 3rd at 12.30 pm, on 7 Mate. 
What were the judges like?  "  Absolutely Wonderful, Queenslander Billy Moore, complimented our food, critiquing with good honest opinion. Dominique Rizzo, was gorgeous & an amazing lady , epitomising 'The Taste of Sicilly', & the Charming Alistair  McLeod, was full of great tips. The Hosts Mark Goldman & Liz Cantor were very funny, & made the day. The Crew from 'Light & Shade Media' Production Team were extremely professional. 


"And how would you all summarise the day? " It's unanimous, we had a fantastic day on set, it was a long day of filming, but we enjoyed the experience. Now I'm just wondering how we will look on the show, when it airs in May, 
I'm hoping the viewers will get behind our Team, for the Viewers' Choice Awards & support Our Team with donations to help Meals on Wheels!"  for everyday hero



3 comments:

  1. So 1. Thats not a press release although its a nicely written blog post and great publicity for you but 2. Have you not breached an agreement by publishing this prior to the show airing?
    You've made some rather negative comments. Aren't you concerned that you've focused more on the competitive aspect than the awareness for Meals On Wheels?

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  2. No, it's not a press release, but my name for the blog. I felt I was lending some intrigued to the The competition. As you'll read I have given my wholehearted support for Meals on Wheels through Our Business Page, also many positive comments about the whole day. After All It was a Competition! Thanks for your comment, looking forward to hearing more...

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  3. I'd like you all to be aware, my first instinct was supporting Meals on Wheels through the social media campaign, helping share their posts, commenting & becoming involved with The #greataustralianbbq . I think the rest of my reply needs to be in a blog, stay posted

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