Great BBQ Challenge
Encyclopedia
Australia's Great BBQ Challenge is a reality TV show on the Lifestyle FOOD
LifeStyle Food
LifeStyle Food is an Australian food channel, solely dedicated to food, wine and restaurant society. The channel is a subsidiary of The LifeStyle Channel, which runs 24 hours a day on the Foxtel and Austar.-Programming:******-External links:****...

 Channel. The show is a competition to find Australia's best BBQ Chef and is hosted by Jabba and was first aired 2 December 2006. The winner receives $25,000 (AUD) and the chance to host their own cooking show on Lifestyle FOOD.

About

Throughout the contest the Top 21 Finalists were given challenges to test their presenting skills, to see if they have what it takes to host their own show on Lifestyle FOOD. The shows' judges are Ben O'Donoghue, Julia Zemiro
Julia Zemiro
Julia Zemiro is an Australian television presenter, radio host, actor, singer and comedian.- Early life :...

 and Mark Adamson. Celebrity chef
Celebrity chef
A celebrity chef is a kitchen chef who has become famous and well known. Today celebrity chefs often become celebrities by presenting cookery advice and demonstrations via mass media, especially television. Historically, celebrity chefs have included Antoine Carême and Martino da Como.-External...

, Ben O'Donoghue
Ben O'Donoghue
Ben O'Donoghue is an Australian chef and television personality. Currently he is one of the hosts and contestants of The Best in Australia airing on LifeStyle Food.-Early years:...

 (of Surfing the Menu), gives the contestants tips on cooking technique, seasoning, time management and presentation. Comedian, radio personality and actress Julia Zemiro
Julia Zemiro
Julia Zemiro is an Australian television presenter, radio host, actor, singer and comedian.- Early life :...

 is there to judge the "X Factor". She profiles the finalists personalities and gives them advice on how to best use their own individual strengths as they would hosting a show. Television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 director and producer Mark Adamson is seeking out those contestants who light up the screen and connect with the audience. He is there to judge their performance and showmanship. Adamson also coaches the finalists through a variety of screen tests and direction using in-ear communication devices. An example included asking the contestants to pull a random object out of a barrel, and "sell" the item to the audience for 30 seconds. This tested their off-the-cuff ability under pressure of live or scripted television.

Auditions

Auditions were held in many locations around Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

, Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...

, Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...

, Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...

, Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....

, the Gold Coast
Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...

, Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...

 and remote locations such as Dubbo, Townsville and Ballarat. Contestants were asked to cook one sausage
Sausage
A sausage is a food usually made from ground meat , mixed with salt, herbs, and other spices, although vegetarian sausages are available. The word sausage is derived from Old French saussiche, from the Latin word salsus, meaning salted.Typically, a sausage is formed in a casing traditionally made...

 and one egg
Egg (food)
Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...

 whilst answering a series of questions about themselves and why they wanted to be part of the show. A second part of the process was a screen test
Screen test
A screen test is a method of determining the suitability of an actor or actress for performing on film and/or in a particular role. The performer is generally given a scene, or selected lines and actions, and instructed to perform in front of a camera to see if they are suitable...

 where they had to talk more about what they would do if they had their own show and deliver a tagline
Tagline
A tagline is a variant of a branding slogan typically used in marketing materials and advertising. The idea behind the concept is to create a memorable phrase that will sum up the tone and premise of a brand or product , or to reinforce the audience's memory of a product...

 or marketing slogan that summarises their personality and character. http://www.lifestylefood.com.au/bbqchallenge/photos.asp

Contestants

The Top 21

After thousands auditioned from all over Australia, 21 Finalists were selected to battle it out in the heats. The top 21 finalists of 2006 were.

Amelita

Andrew

Barbara & Jayne (team)

Bonabent (Bona)

David

Fenton
Fenton Keogh
Fenton Brian Keogh is an Australian celebrity chef and winner of Lifestyle FOOD's Great BBQ Challenge in January 2007. He and his wife Lisa are the owners of Fentons Cafe Restaurant located in Ipswich, Queensland & his son Jacob helps run the restaurant...



Gabrielle

George

Hayley

Ivan

Jason

Katie

Laz

Lisette

Margaret

Richard and Kathy (team)

Rita

Sandy

Sophie

Tibor

William (Bill)

The 21 contestants were put through their paces in a series of 7 heats with different themes. They had to firstly cook their signature dish, then perform a screen test, then battle it out to produce the best dish from a secret ingredient
Secret ingredient
A secret ingredient is a component of a product that is closely guarded from public disclosure for competitive advantage. Sometimes the ingredient makes a noticeable difference in the way a product performs, looks or tastes; other times it is used for advertising puffery...

. Judges Mark, Julia and Ben then decided on the winner based on how they performed in each challenge and their overall performance including charisma, personality and verbal ability.

Heats

Heat 1 - Beach Party

Each contestant got 15 minutes to cook their own signature dish. Bill cooked North African marinated lamb. Barbara and Jayne cooked a steak and mushroom
Mushroom
A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi that...

 ragù
Ragù
In Italian cookery, a ragù is a meat-based sauce, which is traditionally served with pasta.Typical Italian ragù include ragù alla bolognese , ragù alla napoletana , and ragù alla Barese...

 and Andrew made turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

 burgers. Andrew lost points in the final cook off for cutting into the meat while still on the grill
Barbecue
Barbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...

. In the final round it was Bill who came out on top though his simple surf and turf
Surf and turf
Surf and turf or surf 'n' turf is a main course in American cuisine which combines seafood and meat. It is particularly common in British or Irish pubs in North America and North American steakhouses, and typically includes lobster, Dublin Bay prawn, or shrimp, which may be grilled or breaded and...

 dish was under seasoned.

Heat 2 - Asian Bazaar

Margaret, Rita and Bona battled it out in an Asian themed heat. Mags' signature dish was called Chicken a'la Mags, a chicken and vegetable feast with coconut cream
Coconut cream
Coconut cream is very similar to coconut milk but contains less water. The difference is mainly consistency. It has a thicker, more paste-like consistency, while coconut milk is generally a liquid...

 and Asian flavours. Rita's dish was marinated lamb cutlet
Cutlet
Cutlet refers to:# a thin slice of meat from the leg or ribs of veal, pork, or mutton # a fried cutlet# a croquette made of minced meat...

s with Italian influences. Bona pulled out the big guns with his tender loin steak and tropical BBQ sauce. It was a concern of Mark's that Bona might frighten young children if he was to host a show. Even though Mags struggled with the screen test
Screen test
A screen test is a method of determining the suitability of an actor or actress for performing on film and/or in a particular role. The performer is generally given a scene, or selected lines and actions, and instructed to perform in front of a camera to see if they are suitable...

 and has no formal cooking training, she was declared the winner of heat 2 and Rita was granted a wild card
Wild card (sports)
The term wild card refers broadly to a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal play.-International sports:...

.

Heat 3 - Bush Tucker

By the third round things started to get interesting. Amelita, David and Hayley took up the challenge in the Australian-themed episode. Amelita's signature dish was an organic rib fillet with shaved ham
Ham
Ham is a cut of meat from the thigh of the hind leg of certain animals, especiallypigs. Nearly all hams sold today are fully cooked or cured.-Etymology:...

, banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....

, and hollandaise sauce
Hollandaise sauce
Hollandaise sauce is an emulsion of egg yolk and butter, usually seasoned with lemon juice. In appearance it is light yellow and opaque, smooth and creamy. The flavor is rich and buttery, with a mild tang added by the lemon juice, yet not so strong as to overpower mildly-flavored foods.Hollandaise...

. Ben's comments were 'You eat with your eyes and that is beating me to death!' Amelita fired back saying 'Your shoes are beating me to death.' It did her no favours. David cooked up a delightful black sesame seed-crusted tuna
Tuna
Tuna is a salt water fish from the family Scombridae, mostly in the genus Thunnus. Tuna are fast swimmers, and some species are capable of speeds of . Unlike most fish, which have white flesh, the muscle tissue of tuna ranges from pink to dark red. The red coloration derives from myoglobin, an...

 which was favoured among the judges. Hayley's simple salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...

 on potato rosti
Rösti
Rösti is a Swiss dish consisting mainly of potatoes. It was originally a common breakfast eaten by farmers in the canton of Bern, but today is eaten all over Switzerland and also in many restaurants in the Western World. Many Swiss people consider rösti a national dish...

 was elegant and delighted the judges who commented on her presentation in particular the height. Despite her good looks and clever articulation it was David who was chosen to go through to the semi finals.

Heat 4 - Aussie Christmas

Tibor, Jason and Gabrielle battled it out for an Aussie Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

 episode which set a new standard so far in the show. Gold Coast chef/teacher Jason struggled with his signature dish round with his Cafe Del Mare (seafood
Seafood
Seafood is any form of marine life regarded as food by humans. Seafoods include fish, molluscs , crustaceans , echinoderms . Edible sea plants, such as some seaweeds and microalgae, are also seafood, and are widely eaten around the world, especially in Asia...

 platter For 2) which he served cold after cooking it too early. Gabs impressed the two male judges with an old favourite, aussie burgers minus the beetroot
Beetroot
The beetroot, also known as the table beet, garden beet, red beet or informally simply as beet, is one of the many cultivated varieties of beets and arguably the most commonly encountered variety in North America, Central America and Britain.-Consumption:The usually deep-red roots of beetroot are...

, and Tibor went over the top with a Jurassic
Jurassic
The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to  Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...

 feast of ostrich
Ostrich
The Ostrich is one or two species of large flightless birds native to Africa, the only living member of the genus Struthio. Some analyses indicate that the Somali Ostrich may be better considered a full species apart from the Common Ostrich, but most taxonomists consider it to be a...

, barbecued pears with spiced honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...

, walnut
Walnut
Juglans is a plant genus of the family Juglandaceae, the seeds of which are known as walnuts. They are deciduous trees, 10–40 meters tall , with pinnate leaves 200–900 millimetres long , with 5–25 leaflets; the shoots have chambered pith, a character shared with the wingnuts , but not the hickories...

s and blue cheese
Blue cheese
Blue cheese is a general classification of cow's milk, sheep's milk, or goat's milk cheeses that have had cultures of the mold Penicillium added so that the final product is spotted or veined throughout with blue, blue-gray or blue-green mold, and carries a distinct smell, either from that or...

. The secret ingredient this week was turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

, and while Jason professed his loathe for the bird, he was the only contestant able to cook it properly. Mark, Julia and Ben refused to eat Tibor's and Gabrielle's turkey (as it was medium rare
Medium Rare
The Medium is Singapore's first full-length English language film. It was released in local cinemas in late 1991 and produced by Singaporean Errol Pang. It was initially supposed to be directed by a Singaporean, Tony Yeow, then by an American, Stan Barret, and finally by Arthur Smith, who was...

) and declared Jason the winner, although Mark thought he was not the best on the day, preferring Gabrielle as a choice. Clearly Jason's food was presented well and his technique was polished thus the judges wanted to see more and gave him the chance to do so as he was put through to the semi finals.

Heat 5 - Seafood Safari

The seafood
Seafood
Seafood is any form of marine life regarded as food by humans. Seafoods include fish, molluscs , crustaceans , echinoderms . Edible sea plants, such as some seaweeds and microalgae, are also seafood, and are widely eaten around the world, especially in Asia...

 safari episode saw many firsts for the Great BBQ Challenge. The first dessert
Dessert
In cultures around the world, dessert is a course that typically comes at the end of a meal, usually consisting of sweet food. The word comes from the French language as dessert and this from Old French desservir, "to clear the table" and "to serve." Common Western desserts include cakes, biscuits,...

 to be cooked entirely on the BBQ, the first entree and the first tears of the series. Restaurateur
Restaurateur
A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of the restaurant business.-Etymology:The word...

 Fenton
Fenton Keogh
Fenton Brian Keogh is an Australian celebrity chef and winner of Lifestyle FOOD's Great BBQ Challenge in January 2007. He and his wife Lisa are the owners of Fentons Cafe Restaurant located in Ipswich, Queensland & his son Jacob helps run the restaurant...

 shocked the judges with his signature dish, the great Aussie pavlova
Pavlova (food)
Pavlova is a meringue-based dessert named after the Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova. It is a meringue with a crisp crust and soft, light inner. The name is pronounced or , unlike the name of the dancer, which was or ....

 with boozy summer fruits. Darwin cook Lisette served up antipasto
Antipasto
Antipasto , means "before the meal" and is the traditional first course of a formal Italian meal. Traditional antipasto includes cured meats, olives, roasted garlic, peperoncini, mushrooms, anchovies, artichoke hearts, various cheeses...

 and Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....

 IT professional Laz had all the right flavours with his stir fry
Stir frying
Stir frying is an umbrella term used to describe two Chinese cooking techniques for preparing food in a wok: chǎo and bào . The term stir-fry was introduced into the English language by Buwei Yang Chao, in her book How to Cook and Eat in Chinese, to describe the chǎo technique...

 vegetables and lamb chops. During the screen test Fenton's explosive nature impressed Mark and Julia while Laz came out on top with his clear delivery and knowledge base. The final challenge was to cook up a seafood feast. Laz's cook in the bag technique came under criticism
Criticism
Criticism is the judgement of the merits and faults of the work or actions of an individual or group by another . To criticize does not necessarily imply to find fault, but the word is often taken to mean the simple expression of an objection against prejudice, or a disapproval.Another meaning of...

 from Ben as he didn't clean the flat plate between courses and mixed his meal with the charred remains of the previous dish. Fenton's Moreton Bay bug
Moreton Bay bug
Thenus orientalis is a species of slipper lobster from the Indian and Pacific oceans.T. orientalis is known by a number of common names. The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization prefers the name flathead lobster, while the official Australian name is Bay lobster...

s prepared with Asian flavours, secured the win from the judges and moved him to tears and into the semi finals.

Heat 6 - Kids Feast

This episode saw the Challenge's youngest competitor Sandy, go up against food writer Katie and lovable Ivan the posty. The signature dish round got the show off to a great start. Ivan prepared a unique combination of flavours with his rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...

 thighs with mint
Mentha
Mentha is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae . The species are not clearly distinct and estimates of the number of species varies from 13 to 18. Hybridization between some of the species occurs naturally...

 pineapple
Pineapple
Pineapple is the common name for a tropical plant and its edible fruit, which is actually a multiple fruit consisting of coalesced berries. It was given the name pineapple due to its resemblance to a pine cone. The pineapple is by far the most economically important plant in the Bromeliaceae...

. Sandy's spicy lamb served on a char grilled vegetable stack proved to the judges she was very accomplished behind the grill, despite her age. The always articulate Katie from Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...

 went for a cheaper option and whipped up some steak
Steak
A steak is a cut of meat . Most are cut perpendicular to the muscle fibers, improving the perceived tenderness of the meat. In North America, steaks are typically served grilled, pan-fried, or broiled. The more tender cuts from the loin and rib are cooked quickly, using dry heat, and served whole...

 fajitas. Mark's screen test
Screen test
A screen test is a method of determining the suitability of an actor or actress for performing on film and/or in a particular role. The performer is generally given a scene, or selected lines and actions, and instructed to perform in front of a camera to see if they are suitable...

 round belonged to Ivan who's theatrical training helped put him clearly in front of the competition. In the final round the kiddies were the judges and Ivan was declared the winner and Katie was given a second chance as a wild card.

Heat 7 - Retro Pool Party

Sophie and George went up against duo Richard and Kathy in the final round of the heats and with 2 places still remaining in the semi's this was set to be a showdown. Blonde bombshell Sophie from Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

 pulled off a family favourite Sunday roast on the barbie. The second team to make the top 21, Richard and Kathy decided on some sand whiting
Sand whiting
The sand whiting, Sillago ciliata, is a common species of coastal marine fish of the family Sillaginidae, the smelt-whitings...

 fillets with fennel
Fennel
Fennel is a plant species in the genus Foeniculum . It is a member of the family Apiaceae . It is a hardy, perennial, umbelliferous herb, with yellow flowers and feathery leaves...

 scallops. Thinking seafood as well, George impressed with salmon and beurre rouge (red butter). Richard and Kathy lost their way in the mystery object challenge, failing to connect with the camera but earned themselves the wild card
Wild card (sports)
The term wild card refers broadly to a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal play.-International sports:...

 slot while Sophie took out the heat hands down.

Semi-finals

The Semi-finals saw the top 10 contestants (7 winners of the heats and 3 wildcards) go at it one on one, with a set of cooking challenges all centred around different themes.

Semi final 1 - Breakfast

The Breakfast challenge brought qualified chefs Jason and Fenton
Fenton Keogh
Fenton Brian Keogh is an Australian celebrity chef and winner of Lifestyle FOOD's Great BBQ Challenge in January 2007. He and his wife Lisa are the owners of Fentons Cafe Restaurant located in Ipswich, Queensland & his son Jacob helps run the restaurant...

 together to produce a breakfast feast in 30 minutes. At least three different breakfast items had to be prepared all on the BBQ. One with flour, one without flour and one with fruit. Ben through a curve ball half way through the challenge and expected a poached egg from each challenger. Fenton went all out and attempted a damper
Damper (food)
Damper is a traditional Australian soda bread prepared by swagmen, drovers, stockmen and other travelers. It consists of a wheat flour based bread, traditionally baked in the coals of a campfire. Damper is an iconic Australian dish...

 similar to a filet mignon
Filet mignon
Filet mignon is a steak cut of beef taken from the smaller end of the tenderloin, or psoas major of the beef carcass, usually a steer or heifer...

 wrapped in bacon. Coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...

 hotcakes with balsamic
Balsamic vinegar
Balsamic vinegar is a condiment originating from Italy.The original traditional product , made from a reduction of cooked white Trebbiano grape juice and not a vinegar in the usual sense, has been made in Modena and Reggio Emilia since the Middle Ages: the production of the balsamic vinegar is...

 glazed fruit and a chipolata
Chipolata
A chipolata is a type of fresh sausage, believed to have been created in France and similar to an Italian sausage but usually prepared as a very thin, breakfast sausage-style link, often grilled rather than pan-fried or poached...

 rolled in an egg net. Jason's plate was also distinguished, although his egg turned out brown due to the new wok and acidic lime juice. Jason's food was presented best but it was Fenton's big personality that won over the judges and earned a place in the top 10.

Winner - Fenton

Wildcard - Jason

Semi final 2 - Canapes

The two ladies from the home kitchen, Katie and Rita go at it in the canapes challenge.

Winner - Katie

Runner-up - Rita

Semi final 3 - Fish

Ivan the postman took on Ballarat's gift of gab Mags in the third semi - the fish challenge. Despite them both not having trained in a professional kitchen this showdown was all systems go from the beginning.

Winner - Ivan

Runner-up - Margaret

Semi final 4 - Smoking

It was two against one in the fourth semi where David took on Richard and Kathy the final team left.

Winner - David

Runner-up - Richard & Kathy

Semi final 5 - Burger

Jabba said it best when he said 'we've saved the best for last' in the final semi where the two youngest finalists went head to head in the burger challenge.

Winner - Sophie

Wildcard - William (Bill)

Finalists

5 finalists plus 2 wildcards were put through a series of different challenges to determine who would make it through to the grand finale.

The Survivor Challenge

The Contestants were put through their paces in a Boot Camp cook-off. The wild card contestants, Bill and Jason, were designated team leaders and asked to split the finalists into 2 teams (red and blue). They proceeded through physical challenges that showcased their communication, teamwork and problem-solving skills. The final task would be a cook off with the ingredients determined at the end of each round. If they won a challenge they were able to have first pick of the ingredients including meat
Meat
Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs and offal...

 or vegetables. The final team challenge was to start a fire from scratch. The contestants (in their teams) then had to cook a 4 course meal and damper
Damper (food)
Damper is a traditional Australian soda bread prepared by swagmen, drovers, stockmen and other travelers. It consists of a wheat flour based bread, traditionally baked in the coals of a campfire. Damper is an iconic Australian dish...

 on their camp-fires to impress the judges and feed the commando
Commando
In English, the term commando means a specific kind of individual soldier or military unit. In contemporary usage, commando usually means elite light infantry and/or special operations forces units, specializing in amphibious landings, parachuting, rappelling and similar techniques, to conduct and...

s who led them through the challenges. The winning team (blue) consisted of Fenton
Fenton Keogh
Fenton Brian Keogh is an Australian celebrity chef and winner of Lifestyle FOOD's Great BBQ Challenge in January 2007. He and his wife Lisa are the owners of Fentons Cafe Restaurant located in Ipswich, Queensland & his son Jacob helps run the restaurant...

, Sophie, Bill and David. They defeated Ivan, Katie and Jason of the red team. The winning team was then put in the awkward position to choose one contestant from the losing team to eliminate and they had to name that person within 30 seconds. They chose to eliminate the strongest competitor.

Jason was eliminated.

Sausage Sizzle Challenge

For this challenge teams were altered due to blue now having 4 members and red being left with 2 after Jason's departure. Ivan and Katie chose Fenton to join their team and even the stakes. Next the teams were taken to a sausage
Sausage
A sausage is a food usually made from ground meat , mixed with salt, herbs, and other spices, although vegetarian sausages are available. The word sausage is derived from Old French saussiche, from the Latin word salsus, meaning salted.Typically, a sausage is formed in a casing traditionally made...

 kitchen. They then made their own sausage meat and ground it up into one long sausage that had to be rolled into normal sized sausages. Ivan was quite adapt at creating objects out of balloons so he was named the 'balloon man' for the challenge and helped the red team make over 400 sausages and win the round. New red team member Fenton was given the nickname 'bacon
Bacon
Bacon is a cured meat prepared from a pig. It is first cured using large quantities of salt, either in a brine or in a dry packing; the result is fresh bacon . Fresh bacon may then be further dried for weeks or months in cold air, boiled, or smoked. Fresh and dried bacon must be cooked before eating...

' as he had the reputation of 'bringing home the bacon.' The next part to the challenge was to construct a BBQ straight out of a flat-pack box. The blue team came out on top this time. Once assembled, the two teams then had to cook
Cooking
Cooking is the process of preparing food by use of heat. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely across the world, reflecting unique environmental, economic, and cultural traditions. Cooks themselves also vary widely in skill and training...

 the sausages they had made for children (and their parents) from the local athletics club, who were now cheering the teams on. Each sausage had to be served with a different condiment
Condiment
A condiment is an edible substance, such as sauce or seasoning, added to food to impart a particular flavor, enhance its flavor, or in some cultures, to complement the dish. Many condiments are available packaged in single-serving sachets , like mustard or ketchup, particularly when supplied with...

. Then as part of the presenting aspect of the show, the teams were each given a megaphone
Megaphone
A megaphone, speaking-trumpet, bullhorn, blowhorn, or loud hailer is a portable, usually hand-held, cone-shaped horn used to amplify a person’s voice or other sounds towards a targeted direction. This is accomplished by channelling the sound through the megaphone, which also serves to match the...

 which they used to try to persuade the kids to try their sausages over the other teams. It seemed like an out of control bidding war and while Katie and Bill did well at the task, Fenton didn't even need a microphone
Microphone
A microphone is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. In 1877, Emile Berliner invented the first microphone used as a telephone voice transmitter...

. In the end the judges differed in their opinions of who won. Ben believed the red team made the better sausage sizzle while Mark thought blue had it in the bag. Blue were selected as the winners and two from the red team were sent home.

Ivan and Katie were eliminated.

Teppanyaki Challenge

This challenge was an early start for the 4 remaining finalists Bill, Sophie, Fenton and David. It began at the fish market
Fish market
A fish market is a marketplace used for marketing fish products. It can be dedicated to wholesale trade between fishermen and fish merchants, or to the sale of seafood to individual consumers, or to both...

s in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

's Chinatown where Ben explained the art of finding a fresh fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...

. Each finalist asked around to find out as much information as they could about a fish they had never cooked before. Fenton was so impressed with the filleting of the salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...

 that he wanted to meet the man responsible. Turned out it was the No. 1 salmon filleter in NSW. At the docks, 4 BBQ's were set up and each contestant was given 60 seconds to look down the barrel of the camera and talk about how they would prepare this fish, as though they were hosting a show. This was a test to see how much of the information they could retain and deliver to an audience in a simple to understand language. A Teppanyaki
Teppanyaki
is a style of Japanese cuisine that uses an iron griddle to cook food. The word teppanyaki is derived from teppan , which means iron plate, and yaki , which means grilled, broiled or pan-fried...

 Chef came out and gave the finalists a crash course in the ancient Japanese technique. For the final challenge the remaining 4 were taken to a Teppanyaki restaurant and asked to cook a meal for the judges using the technique. Each contestant was judged on the ability to talk and cook at the same time while using techniques that they were all unfamiliar with. The judges then decided they would send one home who they thought was 'throwing' the contest.

David was eliminated.

Top Notch Grill Challenge

The Top 3, Sophie, Bill and Fenton had just two final challenges to complete. The first was the last chance to work on their presenting skills with Mark and Julia
Julia Zemiro
Julia Zemiro is an Australian television presenter, radio host, actor, singer and comedian.- Early life :...

. Mark held a Cue card
Cue card
Cue cards, also known as note cards or idiot cards, are cards with words written on them that help actors and speakers remember what they have to say. They are typically used in television productions where they can be held off-camera and are unseen by the audience...

 which they were required to read while looking down the camera
Camera
A camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...

 and deliver it with as much personality as possible. Mark was looking for someone with the ability to engage the audience. Bill and Sophie struggled with their delivery while big Fenton nailed it in one take, getting a round of applause
Applause
Applause is primarily the expression of approval by the act of clapping, or striking the palms of the hands together, in order to create noise. Audiences are usually expected to applaud after a performance, such as a musical concert, speech, or play...

 from both judges. Then it was off to one of Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

's best fine dining experiences, Mint bar and dining. Once there they had one last attempt to impress 5 VIP's with a signature dish under the keen eye of Ben O'Donoghue. This showed another side of Ben that the contestants had yet to see, a no nonsense head chef barking orders at them in the kitchen and putting the pressure on to get the meals out as efficiently as possible. Sophie served up a very fresh and light Mexican chicken
Chicken
The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...

 with a tasty salad including heart of palm
Heart of palm
Heart of palm, also called palm heart, palmito, burglar's thigh, chonta, palm cabbage or swamp cabbage, is a vegetable harvested from the inner core and growing bud of certain palm trees Heart of palm, also called palm heart, palmito, burglar's thigh, chonta, palm cabbage or swamp cabbage, is a...

 and pistachio
Pistachio
The pistachio, Pistacia vera in the Anacardiaceae family, is a small tree originally from Persia , which now can also be found in regions of Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Greece, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, India, Pakistan, Egypt, Sicily and possibly Afghanistan , as well as in the United States,...

. The food critiques were very impressed. Next up Bill aimed to impress with his dish, crayfish
Crayfish
Crayfish, crawfish, or crawdads – members of the superfamilies Astacoidea and Parastacoidea – are freshwater crustaceans resembling small lobsters, to which they are related...

 cooked in herb butter and served with a salad. The reaction was the same all round from the judges, not good. The presentation was lacking and the salad didn't suit the dish. Owner of Mint remarked 'It's like two different dishes on one plate.' Finally Fenton from Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

 served up an eye fillet with hollandaise and potato rosti
Rösti
Rösti is a Swiss dish consisting mainly of potatoes. It was originally a common breakfast eaten by farmers in the canton of Bern, but today is eaten all over Switzerland and also in many restaurants in the Western World. Many Swiss people consider rösti a national dish...

 (a favourite at his restaurant.) While one judge thought the beef was the best stating 'he (Fenton) put his whole life on the BBQ and served it up for us.' it was Sophie's chicken that got the majority of the VIP judges vote and won her ticket through to the grand finale. That left Fenton and Bill. Ben then announced that Bill would be going home and Fenton was going through. But then in a final twist, Chef Ben O'Donoghue decided to bring Bill back because he felt that he had let him down with his direction in the kitchen. So the Top 2 was again the Top 3 with all contestants going into the final with the winner announced on Australia Day
Australia Day
Australia Day is the official national day of Australia...

.

Grand finale

On 26 January (Australia Day
Australia Day
Australia Day is the official national day of Australia...

) the winner of the Great BBQ Challenge was decided by SMS
SMS
SMS is a form of text messaging communication on phones and mobile phones. The terms SMS or sms may also refer to:- Computer hardware :...

 voting. Fenton Keogh
Fenton Keogh
Fenton Brian Keogh is an Australian celebrity chef and winner of Lifestyle FOOD's Great BBQ Challenge in January 2007. He and his wife Lisa are the owners of Fentons Cafe Restaurant located in Ipswich, Queensland & his son Jacob helps run the restaurant...

 received the most votes and was crowned Australia's best BBQ'er. http://www.lifestylefood.com.au/bbqchallenge/knockout.asp
His passion, enthusiasm and willingness to share his emotions during the series, captured the hearts of the nation who selected him as the overall winner by 1%. The 35 year old chef won $25,000, his own show on Lifestyle FOOD
LifeStyle Food
LifeStyle Food is an Australian food channel, solely dedicated to food, wine and restaurant society. The channel is a subsidiary of The LifeStyle Channel, which runs 24 hours a day on the Foxtel and Austar.-Programming:******-External links:****...

as well as the Grand Turbo 6 Burner BBQ from Barbecues galore worth over $5000.

Other References


External links

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