There’s a new breed of blokes hitting the streets of Moree, openly shunning meat pies for share platters, proudly passing up the stubbies for Shiraz – even unabashedly ordering salad in public.
Jordan Hunt and Zeb Chapman aren’t afraid of embracing their foodie culture, and come Saturday, they’ll be put to the test at the Moree on a Plate Blokes on the Barbecue Competition, proudly supported by B&W Rural.
Jordan and Zeb are one of four teams competing for the coveted King of the Barbeque title, with last year’s winners, Rhodes Kildea’s Alastair Spring and Paul Osborn, back to defend their title. Also contending for the crown is team South Moree Butchery, which includes Robert Moore, plus Auscott Au Naturale, Greg Cumberland and Ben Jackman.
Each team is able to choose a cut of their chosen meat from local butchers, Reados and South Moree Butchery, and has been allocated a mystery ingredient from the festival to incorporate into their dish.
Having been assigned Sleepy Hollow Honey, Jordan and Zeb admit they’re pumped.
“Honey is a great ingredient to cook with, it complements other flavours, it’s rich and it’s also handy at masking any mistakes!” Zeb said.
With one of his favourite things to cook honey glazed salmon, Zeb doesn’t shy away from his prowess in the kitchen.
“I love cooking, I put on some music, have a bit of red wine, some cheese and bickies, it’s awesome.”
And while they may seem like they’ve just stepped out of a Melbourne lane-way, Jordan and Zeb are born and bred Moree locals, and best friends since year two.
“We often cook for each other, and in our bachelor days we spent many evenings cooking and talking about our girl problems - now it’s just me with the girl problems,” Zeb laughs.
While Zeb has recently taken a role at the NSW Department of Water, Jordan is a pilot at Aircair Aviation, and his adventurous spirit extends far beyond the skies.
Jordan is also the mastermind behind Hunt and Co, a motorcycle clothing and accessory brand that celebrates style as well as practicality.
“I guess from the look of us, we probably seem like the underdogs, but I think we may just surprise people,” Jordan said.
Although admitting his favourite dish to prepare is vegetarian, and Zeb’s is a salad, they concede their skills on the barbeque may seem dubious.
“We’ve definitely got a few tricks up our sleeve,” Jordan said, “after all, we’ve basically grown up with Masterchef!”
Blokes on the Barbeque will kick off at 11.45 on Saturday, with each team given 40 minutes to cook prior to judging. Other mystery ingredients include dates from the Narrabri Date Farm, Valla Macadamias and Grove Orange Juice.
Thanks to B&W Rural for sponsoring this event, Mitre 10 for donating a Weber Barbeque for the winner, Coles Moree, South Side Butchery and Reados for donating ingredients, and MC for the cook off, Antony Glynn who will keep the crowds well entertained.