Rotorua couple Alia and Shaun Branson compete in television show Cooks on Fire. Photo / Supplied
Rotorua couple Alia and Shaun Branson compete in television show Cooks on Fire. Photo / Supplied
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.
Cooks on Fire is a new homegrown cooking competition on TVNZ 1, searching for New Zealand's best backyard barbecue team.
In the competition, seven teams of two have brought their barbecues to the BBQ Arena and are battling for the Cooks on Fire trophy plus $30,000 cash.
Deciding the cooks' fates on the show are three judges - 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.
The couple went through an application process to compete on the show which included interviews.
(From left) Cooks on Fire judges Jared Macdonald, Nici Wickes and Ganesh Raj. Photo / Supplied
They had just three-and-a-half weeks notice that they had made it onto the show, and preparation included choosing which barbecue would be most versatile and could cook a range of dishes.
The first episode of Cooks on Fire aired last week, and Alia and Shaun were stoked to pick 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 then in 2018 formed their competition team Black Label Barbecue.
They competed on the national circuit for a few years, and then in late 2021 made the move into barbecue catering as a side hustle.
Shaun says next on their barbecuing journey they would like to have their own premises where they can showcase what they love about cooking, as well as showcasing quality meat cooked over fire and charcoal.
The couple is 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 located at the Village Green and showcase top blues performers and BBQ competitors from all over New Zealand and Australia.
