The reigning champion, a former MasterChef contestant, and a green-bunned burger inspired by Frankenstein are amongst the finalists of New Zealand’s largest culinary competition – Burger Wellington.
Thousands of burger lovers visited almost 200 venues from across the Wellington region, rating more than 17,000 burgers during this year’s competition, which is part of Visa Wellington On a Plate.
After three weeks of fierce competition, the Burger Wellington 2024 finalists are:-
A Frankenstein Adventure, Zephyr Cafe (Wellington CBD)
Celebration of Spices, Sushil’s Musclechef Kitchen and Café (Porirua)
Double Happiness, Apache (Wellington CBD)
Mucho Crunch Birria, Elemental Eats (Porirua)
Nawabi Galouti, One80 (Wellington CBD)
The finalists have plenty of pedigree in their ranks with One80 looking to defend the title they claimed last year, while Apache is seeking to become the first restaurant with two burger crowns eight years after they won.
Visa Wellington On a Plate Festival Manager, Beth Brash, says that the competition has been fierce – and fun – this year.
“Burger Wellington is more than an annual celebration of the humble burger – it’s a chance for chefs to show off their skill and creativity – and boy, did Wellington’s chefs get creative this year! We’ve had burgers inspired by everything from roadkill to Willy Wonka”, says Beth.
Burger Wellington began in 2010, with the aim of supporting Wellington’s hospitality industry during its quietest time of the year.
“The feedback that we’ve had from restaurants is that Burger Wellington has really made a difference to their businesses this year,” says Beth. “It’s been really heart-warming to see so much positivity from customers and support for our local culinary community. I’d love to see that continue for the remainder of the festival and beyond.”
In good news for Burger Wellington fans, four of the five finalist restaurants will be keeping their burgers on the menu throughout the week, with Sushil’s Musclechef Restaurant opting to have a well-deserved break before returning the burger to their menu next week.
An independent panel of judges will assess each of the finalists this week, with the winner of Burger Wellington 2024 to be announced on Monday 2 September.
