Travellers at Sydney Airport’s Qantas Business Lounge this week enjoyed a lunchtime treat of gourmet ‘sliders’ (mini-burgers) prepared by super chefs Neil Perry, Simmone Logue and Justin North.
Justin North, OzHarvest CEO Ronnie Kahn, Simmone Logue and Neil Perry ready to cook up a slider storm at the Qantas Business Lounge
Scores of wagyu beef, tandoori chicken and fish mini-burgers were plated up and wolfed down in the lounge as part of the lead-up to the annual CEO Cookoff sponsored by Qantas.
Justin North's morish sliders being plated up for peckish Qantas lounge guests
The cookoff, which takes place in Sydney on Monday February 17th, is the tentpole fundraiser for OzHarvest, a community organisation which collects ‘quality excess food’ which would be otherwise be discarded and provides it at no cost to charities.
OzHarvest’s ‘food rescue’ operation intercepts meals and produce which would usually head to landfill and uses them to fill needy stomachs instead.
The food is sourced from restaurants, supermarkets and shopping centres, hotels, catering companies, stadiums and corporate events.
21 OzHarvest vans deliver more than five million meals a year to over 500 charities in Sydney, Newcastle, Melbourne, Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Adelaide.
So how does the CEO Cookoff fit into this? A joint initiative of OzHarvest and Qantas, it partners CEOs and celebrity chefs to prepare a three course meal for thousands of Sydney’s homeless and disadvantaged.
Serving up their handiwork at the 2012 CEO Cookoff
Lorraine Elliot, www.notquitenigella.com
Lorraine Elliot, www.notquitenigella.com
The execs and chefs also accept sponsorships to raise money for OzHarvest’s ongoing work along with supporting selected charities.
The list of chefs taking part in the 2014 CEO Cookoff reads like a who’s who of the Australian fine food scene.
Naturally headlined by Qantas Consulting Chef Neil Perry there’s also Matt Moran, Simmone Logue, Guillaume Brahimi, Justin North of Bécasse and Quarter Twenty One fame, Movida’s Frank Camorra plus Colin Fassnidge from Sydney’s Four in Hand and 4Fourteen.
For a look at what goes on at the CEO Cookoff event itself, we recommend this wonderful piece on the 2013 CEO Cookoff by Sydney food blogger and fellow traveller Lorraine Elliott of NotQuiteNigella fame.
You can also watch this video shot by Qantas to showcase the evening.
Australian Business Traveller readers can sponsor their favourite chef at www.ceocookoff.com.au/chefs or click through to the roster of CEOs at www.ceocookoff.com.au/ceos.
In support of OzHarvest, Australian Business Traveller is sponsoring Alan Joyce and Neil Perry for $500 at the 2014 CEO Cookoff.
Follow Australian Business Traveller on Twitter: we're @AusBT
David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
14 Jun 2013
Total posts 360
Good on you AusBT and thanks for the links, I love eating at 4Fourteen and Four in Hand so I think I'll go and put a few dollars towards Colin Fassnidge!
07 Feb 2014
Total posts 2
While it's great to see Qantas is still supporting a worthy cause, it's not surprising that they have had to augment their food offerings at the Business Lounge. The lack of edible nibbles, snacks and antipasta in the lounge over the last few months has made the value of using the business lounges questionable.
28 Oct 2011
Total posts 662
GEEEZ...GIVE IT A REST!!!!
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
17 Aug 2012
Total posts 2223
Bloody hell, mate! Would you rather be in the QP or in a soup kitchen?
This is about charity!
28 Oct 2011
Total posts 662
OZ FEST is the cause....not DYKWIAs
04 Nov 2010
Total posts 674
I've got an idea. Let's everybody NOT jump in to take yet another opportunity to sledge Alan Joyce and Qantas (come on, be honest, there are enough of those anyway).
This story is not about Alan Joyce or Qantas, it's about this OzHarvest charity, which to be honest I had never heard about before but sounds like a fantastic idea! So come on, let's put aside any anti-QF and anti-Joyce rants and if you feel like it, sponsor a chef or even a CEO, no it doesn't have to be Alan Joyce, and do a bit of good.
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