Grow Local, Eat Local Cooking Competition
Grow Local, Eat Local is an annual event that aims to celebrate the vast amount of produce grown across the Wimmera and Southern Mallee through a cooking competition.
Entries Open: 2026 Cooking Competition
Entries for West Wimmera Health Service’s annual cooking competition have opened, and this year there’s an exciting new addition. For the first time, aspiring young cooks aged 12-17 years will have their own competition running alongside the popular adult cook-off.
To enter, competitors simply need to submit a recipe for a main dish that can be cooked in one hour or less and incorporates all three featured local ingredients: Grampians Olive Co. olive oil, Pink Lake salt and Australian chickpeas.
Three finalists will be selected in both the Adult Competition and the new 12-17 Years Competition. Those finalists will then take to the kitchen at the Nhill Memorial Community Centre, where they'll go head-to-head in a live cook-off, preparing their dishes in front of judges and spectators in a celebration of local produce, creativity and cooking talent.
Organisers are encouraging everyone from experienced home cooks to passionate young foodies to showcase their skills, share their creativity and compete for fantastic prizes.
With generous prizes on offer in both age categories, competitors will be vying for first prize valued at $500. Second place winners will receive a personalised hamper featuring local products valued at $250, while third place recipie
nts will take home a personalised local hamper valued at $150.
Entries close on 30 September, with only three finalists selected for each competition.
Whether you're known for your family favourites, love experimenting with new flavours, or have a young chef in the household eager to shine, the Grow Local Eat Local Cook-Off is the perfect opportunity to celebrate local produce and show off your culinary skills.