Rick Stein Blogging competition – the winner!

"Treehouse Kitchen – Celebration Tuatua"

Thank you so much for all the fabulous entries to our Rick Stein blogging competition. It was great to see how many of you were inspired by the idea of cooking and blogging about your ‘Ultimate New Zealand Dish’. Picking a winner was incredibly tough – there were so many fantastic blog posts that set our stomachs rumbling, our mouths watering, and sent us running to the kitchen feeling inspired! However – we had to pick one winner, and that was Mel from Treehouse kitchen, and her ‘Celebration Tuatua’.

Why? Well –we loved the description of the cooking process from start to finish - from shopping in the rain to licking the plates clean. We loved the transformation of planning to cook one dish and ending up cooking another, adapting to what was available, and using one of New Zealand’s best native ingredients; and perhaps most of all we loved Mel’s description of the New Zealand attitude to hospitality and sharing food.

We wanted to share the fantastic recipes and blog posts we received below, and thank you all again for taking the time to enter – reading all the entries was such an enjoyable experience!

WINNER:
Treehouse Kitchen
http://treehousekitchen.wordpress.com/2010/06/20/celebration-tuatua/

OTHER FANTASTIC ENTRIES:

All Kiwis Can Cook
http://allkiwiscancook.co.nz/2010/07/04/fish-pie/

Auckland Food Blog
http://aucklandfoodblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/new-zealands-ultimate-dish.html

Edible Planet
http://edibleplanet.wordpress.com/2010/07/08/the-ultimate-new-zealand-dish/

Foodlovers.co.nz
http://www.foodlovers.co.nz/features/warming-the-cockles.html

Food NZ
http://foodnz.blogspot.com/2010/06/welcome-to-nz-mr-stein.html

Foodology
http://www.foodology.co.nz/2010/07/a-contemporary-boil-up/

Homemades by Arfi
http://www.homemadesbyarfi.com/2010/07/chocolate-square.html

Hungry and Frozen
http://hungryandfrozen.blogspot.com/2010/07/dont-dream-its-pavlova.html

Laughing Gastronome
http://laughinggastronome.blogspot.com/2010/07/potato-topped-pie.html

Menu mania
http://www.menumania.co.nz/blog/2010/07/the-ultimate-kiwi-dish-and-chips/