Rotorua's Ambrosia restaurant hopes a Himalayan goat holds the secret to winning the 2011 Monteith's Beer and Wild Food Challenge.
The local restaurant is one of seven finalists in the competition where cafes and restaurants strive to make tasty and creative dishes from "wild" ingredients.
Head chef at Ambrosia Kris Beehre has entered a lightly smoked wild tahr (himalayan goat), with prawn and sweetbread chorizo, blueberry raisin and drunk kumara, which he titled Baby Tahr.
Mr Beehre said he had entered three times, once with a similar recipe using venison, but hadn't placed anywhere or made it to the final before.
"It was over a few beers with my sous chef we decided to try it with tahr. The flavours are a really good combination."
Competitors will be required to cook the meal four times in one day for the live cook-off final and Mr Beehre has been practising twice a day.
"We source the tahr from Nelson for $46 a kg so it's not cheap to practise but the guinea pigs who get to eat it aren't complaining."
He said Ambrosia was considering putting the baby tahr on the menu after the competition.
The restaurant already serves duck and quail and he said they liked to keep up with the game when it comes to wild cooking.
"It's just different, it takes me out of my comfort zone."
Mr Beehre said even making it to the finals was a "reward" but if Ambrosia won the grand prize of $10,000 he planned to throw a big staff party and put the rest of the money back into the business.
The 30-year-old head chef has worked at Ambrosia since it opened three years ago and said cooking was his passion. "I love it 'cause there are no limits, you just need drive and imagination."
Finalists had to select a Monteith's beer to match their meals and Mr Beehre chose Monteith's Celtic Red Beer which he also uses in a sauce on the dish.
"The smooth chocolate maltiness will bring out the rich flavour and the subtle smokiness of the tahr while enhancing the blueberry." Mr Beehre will take on the other six finalists tomorrow in Auckland.
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