The Eat Local Challenge has come to an end and Nicole Barber, of East Maitland, Julia Howard of East Maitland, Cecily Lenton of Branxton, and Nicole Murphy of Gillieston Heights have been named finalists. 

The cooks put their best recipes forward during the challenge and stepped beyond their usual repertoire. 

They have earned a hamper of fresh local food from the Slow Food Earth Market in The Levee for their efforts. 

The judges have a tough task ahead of them trying to pick a winner who will dine in their home with six guests of their choice and enjoy a meal cooked by chef and Slow Food Hunter Valley leader Amorelle Dempster.

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Entrants are judged on their creativity, the number of dishes they have made from the ingredients, and their ability to use everything including the pumpkin seeds, egg shells and spring onion roots.

The challenge is Maitland’s first seasonal food competition and part of Slow Food’s Menu for Change campaign which entices shoppers to eat locally grown food instead of industrial scale farming products. 

It also aims to raise awareness about climate change and the distance food travels from the farm to the plate. 

Entrants bought a $15 mystery bag of ingredients to enter the challenge and used those items, and any others they needed, to make as many dishes as possible. 

Let’s get to know the four finalists.

Suburb: East Maitland

Number of dishes: 6

What did you cook?

Pumpkin and zucchini fritters 

Pumpkin  (and almond and date) loaf

Polenta tart with roasted pumpkin, spinach, honey and pecans 

Creamed kholrabi with spinach, lemon and cashews (like a milk saute) 

Indian Saag with chicken

Lemony beetroot hummus

What was your most creative dish?

Creamed kholrabi with spinach, lemon and cashews (like a milk saute). I enjoyed the way the kohlrabi and potato especially picked up on the flavours of the lemon, onions, herbs and garlic.

It was a one pot dish, all the ingredients just cooked in cashew milk and it was served with cashews and Parmesan to serve.

What did you learn from the challenge?

I learnt to think outside the square. I tried to create dishes that remained simple, but used the ingredients in different ways as well. I also learnt how versatile you can be with just a few ingredients if you give yourself more time to think ahead and plan the meal.

“Slow Food Australia are creating a great presence in the local area of Maitland. I appreciate their initiatives to help support local farming, and this was another great initiative by the team of Slow Food Australia. The more involved, the more support and encouragement it will bring.”

Suburb: East Maitland

Number of dishes: 4 

What did you cook?

Sage oven potatoes with sour cream, crispy ham and spring onion

Kohlrabi cordon bleu with green salad

Beetroot and cream cheese quiche

Pumpkin soup with homemade clay-baked wholemeal pepita bread

What was your most creative dish?

Kohlrabi cordon bleu.

What did you learn from the challenge?

It required me to think even more outside the box on how to use vegetables I wouldn’t necessarily buy otherwise. Especially the beetroot was a challenge for us (it’s not very popular in our household). 

“I try to reduce food waste and my environmental impact as much as I can so I try to cook with seasonal, locally grown food and loved the challenge to maximize the use of the produce.”

Suburb: Branxton

Number of dishes: 14

What did you cook?

A simple salsa with tomato, shallot, olives, olive oil, salt and pepper, and basil. 

Roast pumpkin and kale salad with mint, leek and garlic.

The avocado from the mystery bag was served up for breakfast with scrambled free range eggs, balsamic tomatoes with chia seeds, toasted homemade bread, and freshly squeezed orange juice.

Roast chicken, asparagus from the garden, and from the mystery bag are grilled squash and oven baked potato crisps.

Red velvet muffins made with beetroots from the mystery bag.

A vegan pesto made with kale and garlic from the mystery bag, as well as almonds, oregano, salt, and olive oil. 

Chicken and vegetable stir fry and includes the kholrabi, shallots and some of the herbs.

A smoothie which includes the beetroot leaves and mint.

Spaghetti Bolognese made with silverbeet stalks.

A tasty and simple frittata made with mostly ingredients from the bag and includes the eggs, potato, silverbeet leaves, shallots, herbs, and a bit of olive oil.

Roast beetroot and walnut dip served with homemade crackers. Ingredients from the bag are beetroot and mint for the dip, and the stoneground organic wholewheat flour and the rest of the olive oil for the crackers.

A vegan coleslaw with lemon in the dressing.

Pumpkin scones.

What was your most creative dish?

Roast pumpkin and kale salad with mint, leek and garlic.

What did you learn from the challenge?

It’s something that was fun to do. It’s a good way to think about how other people are using these ingredients so you’re not cooking the same thing over and over again. I enjoy going on social media and seeing what other people are making as well for more ideas and inspiration. It’s great to be able to cook with ingredients that you’ve never used before.

Suburb: Gillieston Heights

Number of dishes: 26

What did you cook?

Summer squash,lemon and poppy seed loaf

Kale and banana muffins

Avocado, honey and lime glazed donuts

Beet Wellington with mushroom and silverbeet "pâté"

Kale and parmesan crackers

Spring lamb tagine with local honey and zucchini

Mashed potato, flavoured with leftover panch phoron seasoned olive oil and spring onion tops.

Crispy potato skins with turmeric, panch phoron and curry leaves.

Roasted zucchini and baby beetroot with mint, man'oushe and homemade labne

Warm salad of silverbeet stems, spring onion, green garlic and zucchini with toasted almond tahini dressing

Pesto of beetroot leaves, basil and pepitas

Basil and strawberry breakfast bruschetta with feta and balsamic.

Crispy baked squash "steaks" with a lemon and sesame crumb.

Warm salad of green garlic bulb and stems, baby leeks, foraged dandelion, parmesan and balsamic

"Carpaccio" of kohlrabi and apple with pecans and mint.

Beet-hummus with crispy baked leaves of kohlrabi and beetroot

Baked silverbeet with cabbage, bacon and apple.

Wholemeal date loaf

Pumpkin seeds with lemon and Persian spice.

Crisps of pumpkin skin with olive oil and berbere.

Pumpkin, cheese and gorgonzola omele

Pumpkin ice cream with spicy honeyed seeds.

Lemon and cardomom burfi

Silverbeet Keripik Bayam with sambal terasi mayo.

Rainbow fusilli with pork, roasted fennel and sage.

Potato salad with roasted garlic, sweet feta dressing and toasted almonds.

Beverage: Frozen mint and Korean yuja mocktail.

What was your most creative dish?

Using pumpkin skin and pumpkin seeds to make bar snacks.

What did you learn from the challenge?

The challenge taught me how a really simple vegetable can make so many interesting dishes.I used the eggshells to raise seeds in the garden.

What did you learn from the challenge?

The challenge taught me how a really simple vegetable can make so many interesting dishes. Sometimes you use the same vegetables to make the same things and this was an opportunity to choose something different to make.