St Matthew's Collegiate School students Stacey Woods, left, and Anna Caldwell pocketed $125 each with their Beef + Lamb NZ Magic Mince win in the nationwide Just Cook contest. PHOTO/LYNDA FERINGA
St Matthew's Collegiate School students Stacey Woods, left, and Anna Caldwell pocketed $125 each with their Beef + Lamb NZ Magic Mince win in the nationwide Just Cook contest. PHOTO/LYNDA FERINGA
TWO classmates from St Matthew's Collegiate School in Masterton have won a nationwide cookery contest with a meatloaf recipe that recaptures their favourite childhood food.
Year 10 students Anna Caldwell and Stacey Woods were "very surprised" when their meatloaf won the Beef + Lamb NZ Magic Mince section of theNew Zealand Nutrition Foundation Just Cook competition.
The pair said they had received vital help from teacher Shelley Gilman, head of food and nutrition at the school, in fine-tuning their recipe, which sought to re-create a meatloaf both students recalled from childhood.
"We remember having meatloaf and carrot and mashed potato in our childhood and we wanted to re-enact it and put our own twist on it," Stacey said. The twist the girls put on the meatloaf was rolled oats, they say, which had definitely won points with the competition judge.
"The fact that we put lots of vegetables in it really helped, and the rolled oats we put in as well. You don't often find that in a recipe for meatloaf and the judge thought it was a point of difference.
"We were very surprised when we first found out we'd won."
The meatloaf was served with country mashed potatoes and a robust salad and had ticked all the boxes as a healthy family meal, which was the overall aim of the contest and a deciding element of judging.
Each of the students walked away with a $125 cash prize and certificates recording their win.
