Kidsafe Cook-Off 2013

It was such an honour to take part in the Kidsafe Cook-Off this week in King George Square.  It's the second year we've been involved (here's last year's rundown) through 96five, and the second year of entering our very own "Mums in the Kitchen" team.  That's us, pictured above - Anny, Amy, myself & Hannah - ready to cook!

This year was a bit different and started out with a heap of activities for the kids.  They had a chef do some kids' cooking, an opportunity I just couldn't pass up for my little ones.  They came along and quite literally, got their hands dirty in the kitchen!

They also had a special appearance from Elmo & Grover, which was naturally, another big hit with the kids!

The first challenge was to re-create a dish that Damian Heads demonstrated to us.  We had a time limit and were provided with all the ingredients and utensils.  It was a simply divine Salmon & Quinoa dish (I'll share the recipe at a later date!) - and this year, we thought outside the square, and used our own creative flair with the presentation.  Here's what we put up...

It tasted amazing!  The next part of the challenge was teaming up with one of the real chefs and doing a bit of a mystery box challenge.  I was on a team with Mark Wright from Spring and it was so much fun seeing the chefs in action and admiring their ideas and techniques.  Our team put up these delicious canapes of crispy wontons, marinated chicken and a pomegranate & avocado salsa...

And a White Chocolate Cheesecake with Mango Salsa (divine!!!)

Then the results from the first challenge were announced...and we came 2nd!  We were over the moon!  The team from Springfree Trampolines took out the major prize, but we were only 3 points behind (out of 600 points) and tied with the Culinary Cops.  We were so thrilled to have improved on last year and even got awarded this whisk trophy!

Alana from Masterchef was just lovely, and I can highly recommend her new range of sauces!

All in all, a fantastic day, promoting a great message - keeping our kids safe.  Susan & Jennifer did a wonderful job bringing it all together - here they are with all the professional chefs.