Cross country cuisine

Northland foodies can get a taste of the wild at Dickens Inn in Whangarei this month.

Chef Luke Keuning's dish "Wild South Meets North" is a semifinalist in the Monteith's Wild Food Challenge.

The dish features braised alpine origin merino short ribs accompanied by sweet breads, red cabbage and crisp apple with thyme baked local moemoe (Maori potatoes). It is matched with Monteith's Doppelbock Winter Ale.

Mr Keuning intends to showcase the flavours of New Zealand, from the southern alpine regions to the lowlands of the North, in his dish.

Over the past month, 143 restaurants across the country have been cooking wild dishes to take out first place and $15,000 in the challenge. Dickens Inn is one of 18 semifinalists.

Throughout the semifinal phase of the challenge, head judge Kerry Tyack and a guest judge will visit each of the semifinalists again to determine the six participants who will make it through to the final cook-off in Auckland next month.

"All those participants who made it through to the semifinals are there because they scored highly in both the execution of their dish and beverage match and also provided exceptional service, embodying the spirit of the Monteith's Wild Food Challenge," Mr Tyack said.

The Aratapu Tavern in Dargaville has been announced as 2013's joint Spirit of Monteith's Wild Food Challenge award winner, along with Cableway's in Dunedin, winning a cash prize of $1000 each. The Spirit award is given to outlets who bring the challenge to life within their establishment, creating a wild environment and providing impeccable service.

The dishes will remain on menus until the finalists are announced on August 26 so there's still time to get a taste for the wild.