Dunedin executives are dusting off their aprons in preparation for a charity cook-off on October 19 at the Forbury Park function centre.
In "The CEO Cook-Off'', 10 New Zealand celebrity chefs will pair up with 20 high-profile chief executives and business managers from around the country to produce a meal for paying guests.
The event is a fundraiser for FoodShare, a charity which collects surplus food and distributes it to those in need.
Dunedin executives involved told The Star this week they were eager to support Foodshare.
Dunedin Airport chief executive Richard Roberts said the FoodShare concept was a "no-brainer''.
Asked where his culinary talents lay, Mr Roberts said his specialties were pork pies, dripping and black pudding. He had put in a bit of cooking practice at work "feeding the troops'', he said.
Asked what he expected at the cook-off, Mr Roberts said he was hoping for some "verbal'' in the kitchen.
CrestClean managing director Grant Mclauchlan said while the kitchen was not his usual domain, he was open to any cooking tips that came his way in the run-up to the event.
The executive chefs would play "second fiddle'' to the celebrity chefs, he said.
"We are their sous chefs to provide support. I guess we'll be the circus act beside the serious part.''
Click Property Management managing director Andrea Elliott said she did some "pretty mean'' pork dishes and her culinary preferences had recently been influenced by a trip to China.
• You can give to FoodShare via the respective pages of each competing executive at the givealittle link: https://givealittle.co.nz/event/ceocookoff/fundraisers.
JOSHUA.RIDDIFORD @thestar.co.nz
