Taste Paradise Signature Dish Competition
Local chefs compete to create Taste Paradise Signature Dish
using top regional produce
Cairns, July 27, 2010, With a bounty of exotic flavours at their disposal, the chefs of Tropical North Queensland have a well-deserved reputation for plating up paradise. But what dish from this plethora of palate pleasers truly defines our unique region, where the rainforest meets the Great Barrier Reef?
Cairns Festival’s inaugural Taste Paradise Signature Dish Competition will see the public and industry experts select the dish that best represents the essence of Tropical North Queensland, a region celebrated for its truly diverse array of culinary offerings.
To be in the running for the esteemed title of creating the Taste Paradise Signature Dish, chefs and restaurateurs of the region will create menu masterpieces drawing from the abundance of local produce.
Their dish could feature anything from sensational exotic fruit to the freshest tropical seafood, or locally-sourced gourmet foods including cheese, milk, yoghurt and ice-cream, nuts, meat, poultry and eggs.
“Taste Paradise Signature Dish is open to all restaurants that are passionate about using local produce in their menus. We want chefs and restaurateurs to create and enter recipes from their menus that personify the region — a dish that captures the very essence of Taste Paradise,” says Taste Paradise consultant Nola Craig.
Taste Paradise Signature Dish items will be judged using criteria including the use of local produce, innovation, presentation and taste, with consideration being given to public feedback through online forums.
The campaign, Taste Paradise — Tropical North Queensland, will be launched at the Food & Wine celebration during Cairns Festival on August 20. The Signature Dish Competition is part of this ongoing project to promote the region as a food tourism destination.
Restaurants have until August 4 to enter a dish in the competition, with public voting to run from August 20 to September 20. Learn more, and place your vote at the official website www.tasteparadise.com.au.
Cairns Festival is supported and presented by Cairns Regional Council. Now the region’s largest annual cultural celebration, this year’s festival season will run from August 20 to September 5 at venues all over Cairns. For information on the complete program, events and activities, www.cairnsfest.com.au