Local Wild Food Challenge

Are you GAME enough to cook WILD?

Woman with gray hair wearing a black-and-white checkered shirt standing beside a table with a large green plant arrangement and a white seafood display bowl, with a black background.

Individual Cooking Challenge

Think you’ve got what it takes to create a wild dish from scratch? The Individual Cooking Challenge invites adventurous cooks to dive into nature and bring back something truly special.

Start by sourcing your ingredients - whether it’s diving, fishing, foraging, hunting, gardening, or bartering, the more effort you put in, the more points you earn. Then, harvest from the land or sea: beaches, forests, rivers, mountains, lakes, or even your own backyard. The more local your ingredients, the better!

Next, it’s time to prepare your dish. Shuck, slice, marinate, smoke, ferment, bake, distil - whatever it takes to bring your wild ingredients to life. Finally, enter your creation along with a short story: What inspired your dish? What was your journey like? Why did you choose these ingredients?

Prizes will be awarded to the overall winner and runner-up in each category: Open (16+) and Youth (15 & under). It’s not just about cooking - it’s about the adventure behind the plate.

Weber Baby Q 1000N Gas BBQ
Weber Go Anywhere Charcoal BBQ
Treewalk Family Combo ticket (2 adults, 3 children)
Evergreen Garden Care Prize Pack

Young women participating in mystery box cooking challenge, preparing sandwiches at a table. They are wearing black aprons and green wristbands, with some also wearing caps. One woman appears focused on making a sandwich with bread and spread.

Team Mystery Box Challenge

Whether you're a local business, community group, or a team of family and friends, the Mystery Box Challenge is your chance to showcase creativity, teamwork, and culinary flair!

This exciting team event was a standout highlight of the 2025 festival, drawing enthusiastic participants and plenty of crowd buzz. In teams of three, you'll receive a mystery box filled with surprise ingredients - your task is to transform them into a dish that will impress our panel of judges.

With limited time, shared kitchen space, and unexpected ingredients revealed only at the last moment, the challenge is as thrilling as it is fun. It’s a fantastic way to bond, compete, and celebrate local wild food traditions.

Prizes will be awarded to the top team in each round, so bring your best game, your best mates and get ready to cook up something unforgettable!

Prizes up for grabs