Award-winning Kiwi chef on menu for Australian TV

Media release from Otago Polytechnic

19 May 2009

Award-winning Kiwi chef on menu for Australian TV show

One of New Zealand’s most talented award-winning chefs will star on SKY’s Food TV this weekend as a guest chef on Paul Mercurio’s cooking show Mercurio’s Menu.

The episode, which screens this Sunday (24 May) at 7pm, features Central Otago chef Debbie Crompton and Mr Mercurio cooking up a storm together at Queenstown’s Punatapu Lodge. 

Multi-talented Mercurio is a familiar face on New Zealand TV, most recently as a judge on TV1’s Dancing with the Stars.  Since he shot to stardom in 1992 for his role in the movie Strictly Ballroom, the Australian actor and dancer has become a popular TV personality, an accomplished cook and home beer brewer, making him the ideal choice to host a destinational cooking programme.

Mr Mercurio toured Central Otago in November, meeting local business owners and collecting a selection of top quality local produce.  He then took the ingredients to Debbie to whip up a Central Otago feast.

Debbie, a full-time Chef Lecturer to budding chefs at Cromwell’s Otago Polytechnic, has enjoyed a star-studded career which has taken her around the world, instilling a passion for learning and teaching different food styles and a strong culinary drive to use local ingredients. 

“That’s why I did the show,” she says.  “What a great way of showcasing Central Otago and the abundance of top quality fresh produce we have here.”

Debbie is well known in Central Otago for her roles as Executive Chef at Millbrook Resort, Rex Morgan’s Chef de Cuisine at The Spire Luxury Hotel, Consultant Chef to Kinloch Lodge and Restaurant, and Head Chef at Punatapu Lodge.  She still “guest chefs” at Punatapu Lodge and runs its Ki Tao ('the art of cooking from Aotearoa') Cooking School – a fun, social way for guests to learn more about cooking local cuisine.

She says meeting Paul Mercurio and filming the show was a “fantastic experience”.

“He’s such a nice guy.  I really enjoyed meeting him and swapping cooking tips and techniques.

“I’ve already seen the episode and it’s fantastic – what a great plug for the region.  Paul and I use ingredients synonymous with Central Otago like wild thyme, goodies from Provisions, Ida Valley saffron, Kutash Organic garlic, and Poverty Gully Olive Oil to make dishes like Central Otago roast pheasant with saffron and bay potatoes.

“There's also some wonderful footage of the area, and of Paul hunting pheasant with Paul Davie, picking wild thyme up in the hills with Pauline Murphy from Provisions and chatting to Jane at their store.  Old Cromwell looks great,” says Debbie. 

More than three million people have already watched the show in Australia and those who featured products on the show have received dozens of calls from interested buyers.

ENDS

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