Avocados star in festival of food

The 2020/21 Seeka Smashed Avocado Competition kicked off on Saturday with someexciting dishes being put upby talented chefs at six local cafes and restaurants showcasing their cuisine using the star of theshow— avocados.

Katch Katikati's event manager Kylie Watkins says the team at Katch Katikati will be out sampling the dishes this weekand are excited to share their experiences with the community.

People are encouraged to call into any of the participating establishments, order the dish, sample, and vote. Customers will be given a voting slip to accompany the dish, where they can rate the dish from 1-5 on five aspects including presentation and flavour. Avoting box will be at front of house for people to post their votes. The last day to sample dishes and vote is Monday, January 4.

Thenames of thosewho voted will go into adraw to win one of two $50 vouchers to dine at one of the participating establishments.

Here are the divine dishes entered in the competition.

CAFEVIVA

DishName: Avocado Guac Roll

After brainstorming with our staff, our dish wascreated by staffmemberBridget Taylor.

OurAvocado Guac Roll is vegan, gluten-free and yummy!

Whatinspired you?

“Bridget's inspirationwasher hunger for a dish thatwas refreshing, healthy and tasty.”

TALISMANHOTEL

DishName: Avocado Citrus Fusion

Avocado, lemon and almond parfait with citrus curd. Avocado ice cream and dark chocolate soil. Wealways draw our inspiration from the beautiful avocado tree in the centre of our garden bar as well as the citrus thatwegrow on site. We wanted to incorporate our garden into this year's entry dish. Weare lucky to be surrounded by all the orchards in Katikati.

Whatinspired you?

“The creamy texture of ripe avocadosmakeit anatural ingredient for rich desserts, and because I have awhole lot of ideas forhowwecan use them. Avocado is an ingredient that I use almost as often as I use lemon. It's healthy, creamy, delicious, and so versatile… I thought I'd highlightsome ofmy favourite avocado recipes.”

ROBERTHARRISCAFE

DishName:“ACE (Avo-ChocEspresso) Tart

This is our Robert Harris, rich creamyAvocado Tart.

Amixture of our unique deep flavoured espresso with creamy local avocados, and the addition of chocolate truffle makes for a lovely afternoon treat served with cream/yoghurt. Madewith “love” from the Robert Harris Girls.

Whatinspired you?

“The team wanted to use their coffee blend and mix itwith the locally grown avocados.”

THELIGHTHOUSE CAFE

DishName: Not Your Avo-age Nachos

AKiwi favourite with a Lighthouse twist. Madewith prime beef and keto friendly avocado “flats”. Available in spicy or cheese to suit both palates. Served with chunky salsa, sour cream and homemadeguacamole.

Whatinspiredyou?

“Wejust wanted to find aKiwi favourite and add a little avocado twist to it, and making our avocado flats to suit both palates— cheese and spicy.”

CAFEATTHE BALCONY

DishName: Smashed Avocado Chicken Schnitzel Wehave combined our traditional smashed avocado combination with avocado and feta cheese (whichwe knowthe community love), with our crumbed chicken schnitzel, and served it on a bed of beetroot andmango salad for the coming summer. Whatinspired you?

“I didn't want to use bacon again as Iwanted to give the dishmoreflavour and to have somethingwecan substitute with different kinds of protein components. I chose chicken as the main part of the dish because everyone likes chicken. I thought of using salmon, but salmon is expensive, so I thoughtwe needed somethingmore affordable. If a customer doesn't want chicken, wecan substitute it with salmon, or bacon or a vegetarian option.”

THEORCHARDHOUSE

DishName: Avocado Smoreish

“This yearweare pleased to present our quite intricate and unusual dish, Avocado Smoreish, which is a play on a classic childhood (and adult) treat. Our very talented baker, Jacqui Pountney, has created from scratch, the avocado marshmallow, which is then drizzled with a salted espresso caramel and sandwiched between an avocado oilinfused chocolate ganache andGrahamcrackers. The final plating incorporates the leaves and branches of an avocado, so there is a full circle.

Whatinspired you?

“Jacqui is keen on taking out her second avo competition win, and the first for The Orchard House!”