Tickets going for whitebait cook-off

The secret ingredients have been chosen and the cooking techniques practised, but there's no show without an audience.

Ticket sales for Jigsaw Whanganui's Great Whitebait Cook-off have been slow, but Jigsaw Whanganui executive officer Tim Metcalfe said they had started to pick up over the past few days.

Tonight's cook-off will see 16 teams of two cook their favourite whitebait recipe in 20 minutes.

Jigsaw Whanganui is a non-profit agency with a frontline team of 16 social workers, counsellors and educators. During the past year, it has worked with more than 450 families throughout Wanganui, Rangitikei and Waimarino and made a difference to the lives of more than 1000 local children.

Less than 40 per cent of the organisation's income comes from the government, so it relies on other funding. The cook-off will be its major fundraising event for the year.

There will be three judges: Angela Ferguson from the Taranaki branch of the NZ Chefs' Association, Patrick Van Alfen, a wine merchant from Wairarapa Wines and a third person who will agree to have their name put forward when they arrive at the event and be drawn before the judging takes place.

Mr Metcalfe said he had been impressed by the amount of support local businesses had given to their fundraiser, many of whom had waived the cost of the supplies.

Although sworn to secrecy over the content of the recipes of the contenders, Mr Metcalfe did say people had approached the challenge in some really unusual ways, including some that he himself would not have thought of.

"They have been practising very hard and they are approaching it with a high degree of enthusiasm and seriousness," he said.

Tickets for the cook-off are $80 and are available from Eides Sport, The Edge Beauty Studio, Hunting & Fishing NZ, Wanganui Veterinary Services, and Jigsaw Whanganui.