"Ben's Menu" on its way..

Since his first appearance in Masterchef Australia, Ben has always been an ambassador for his state Tasmania & as we said earlier, Ben is just so much passionate aboot Tassie & all things Tasmanian. Ben is soon to begin a new cooking show, "Ben's Menu" which is set to be prodced in Tasmania with Tasmanian produce. Ben's Tasmanian focussed cooking show will hit television screens in Australia later this year.
The show is expected to air on Channel Ten, weekdays from 4-4:30 in September of this year. The Liberal party of Australia (Tasmania division) have showed their support towards Ben's new television series with a $100,000 commitment. Regarding his upcoming cooking show, Ben said, “If the new show brings one person to Tasmania it would be happy but I hope it does much more than that.’’ He expects the show to attract 1.5 million viewers a week . He also hopes the local food and the Tasmanians that produce it will be the real stars of this show.

Tourism on the menu, with Tassie key ingredient of TV cooking show

A cooking show for national television starring Coastal celebrity chef Ben Milbourne would base its filming in Tasmania under a Liberal state government.

The show would expose mainland audiences to the North-West, where Shearwater resident Mr Milbourne would film some of the 90-episode first series.

Liberals leader Will Hodgman yesterday announced $100,000 in funding for Mr Milbourne's new TV show, Ben's Menu, due to begin production.

The show has also received funding from other sponsors.

Mr Hodgman said the funding would help the show attract tourists to Tasmania and build the state's profile.

He described the spending as a strategic investment providing ``bang for buck''.

The funding will cover costs of filming in Tasmania, ensuring the show can be filmed in the state rather than a Melbourne studio.

Tasmania's screen industry would also benefit from the funding, Mr Hodgman said.

If filmed in Tasmania Ben's Menu will travel across the state and Mr Milbourne will use local produce in his cooking on the show.

The show, based in Launceston or Hobart, would visit the North-West and show off its scenery.

Each episode would set a menu, and viewers could adopt dishes to cook for dinner each night.

If it receives the Liberals' proposed funding, filming could begin in May and the show would air first in September on Channel Ten.

Mr Milbourne said the show will expose mainland audiences to Tasmanian produce at supermarkets and draw visitors.

Filming the show in Tasmania would also mean Mr Milbourne could live close to home as his wife Sally had their first baby.

``Everyone knows how in love I am with my state,'' Mr Milbourne said.

When asked about the Liberals' proposed funding, Labor said if re-elected it would boost events funding by $6 million over three years to help stage new events in winter.

Labor said it would also provide $400,000 over four years to support Tasmania's hospitality sector.