Couple tackle TV cooking show
Barbecue experts showcase culinary skills
Rotorua couple Alia and Shaun Branson are bringing the heat and putting their best flavours forward as they compete in the television series
Cooks on Fire.
The show is a new TV cooking competition searching for New Zealand’s best backyard barbecue team.
In the contest, seven teams of two have brought their barbecues to the BBQ Arena as they vie for the Cooks
on Fire trophy plus $30,000 cash. The show’s three judges are Eat
Well for Less NZ host Ganesh Raj, food writer Nici Wickes and barbecue pitmaster Jared Macdonald.
Alia and Shaun are barbecue fanatics. They own 14 barbecues, including a Texas made offset barbecue trailer.
In the show, their barbecue of choice is a Proq Excel.
They say filming for the programme was pretty full-on, with challenges but also a lot of fun.
“It was exciting and a roller coaster ride.”
The couple went through an application process to compete on the show which included interviews.
They had just three and a half weeks’ notice that they had made it on to the show, and preparation included choosing which barbecue would be most versatile and could cook a range of dishes.
The first Cooks on Fire episode aired on TVNZ1 last week, and Alia and Shaun picked up Best Barbie from Nici Wickes for their signature dish. It was Espetosul New Zealand/ Australia rotisserie pork belly and Silver Fern Farms reverse seared beef
rump cap with fresh apple fennel and walnut slaw, grilled cos lettuce, caesar salad and pan-seared oyster mushrooms.
Although their eggplant scorcher didn’t go to plan, they were happy with the result.
“It has pushed us outside our boundaries and hopefully the show inspires a whole bunch of other people to give it a go and try something different.”
Alia and Shaun started barbecuing about 10 years ago, and in 2018 formed their competition team Black Label Barbecue.
They competed on the national circuit for a few years and in 2021 moved into barbecue catering as a side hustle.
Shaun says they would like to next have their own premises where they can showcase what they love about cooking and showcasing quality meat cooked over fire and charcoal.
The couple are also excited to continue promoting and sharing barbecuing with the community through the upcoming Blues and BBQ Festival from November 25-27.
The festival will be at the Village Green and showcase top blues performers and barbecue competitors from across New Zealand and Australia.
Information and tickets are available at bluesandbbq.co.nz.
Alia and Shaun Branson