Ruapehu: Souffle wins carrot cook-off competition in Ohakune

Ashlee Douglas of Ohakune with her winning carrot souffle.

Ohakune has celebrated the magic of carrots with a community cook-off and lunch.

At New Zealand’s first-ever carrot cook-off a secret family recipe of carrot souffle, by Ashlee Douglas, stole the show and clinched the title of the top dish.

Various carrot-themed dishes were offered at the event hosted by Bargain Box, including sweet, savoury, curried, pickled, baked and mashed recipes.

Douglas felt privileged to be crowned number one.

“It’s an old family recipe my mum used to make, so it’s awesome to win and obviously pretty amazing to get a whole year’s free Bargain Box, especially as we are a family of five with three kids.”

Douglas said the event was a positive experience.

“But actually the best reminder was just how important it is to stop the rush of our lives, sit down and enjoy food together.”

The award-winning recipe will now be featured in an upcoming Bargain Box.

Kiwi foodie Nadia Lim joined the carrot-loving community event and heaped praise on the humble vegetable.

“The carrot is an affordable and healthy staple of our Bargain Boxes, so we wanted to celebrate the hard-working community around Ohakune who produce the bulk of NZ’s carrots and help keep so many Kiwis well-fed.

“Times have been feeling tough lately so it was great to get out there and chat with some of the locals and eat their delicious dishes. Spending time with awesome communities like this reminds you what’s important in life.”

The other top five dishes, voted by locals, included a sticky carrot pudding by Emma Rowe, a carrot salad by Steph Rollinson, Nana’s carrot cake by Liz Brooker, and Thai carrot fritters by Bangorn Phooued.

My Food Bag CEO Mark Winter said they wanted to celebrate the locals who helped deliver “tasty, convenient and affordable dinner solutions to families across Aotearoa.

“We hope [the carrot cook-off] went a small way to making our community feel as important as they are.”

The carrot cook-off competition was held at the Carrot Adventure Park, Ohakune.