Ben & his pop-ups..

Since ‘Masterchef’ got over, as stated previously Ben has have done several pop up restaurants & celebrity cooking demonstration. Here are some snaps from different pop ups & celebrity cooking demo where Ben has participated:

The Advocate has joined forces with former MasterChef contestant Ben Milbourne to showcase Tasmanian produce. 

A new food page ‘Regional Recipes’ has been introduced, where Ben uses featured local produce to create recipes that anyone can whip up in their own kitchen.
The Advocate editor Julian O'Brien said it was great to have the former school teacher and now celebrity chef on board promoting the many food delights of the region.
``Ben's not only a good bloke and a great cook, but he's as passionate about this region as anyone I know,'' Mr O'Brien said.
``Hopefully Regional Recipes will inspire the weekend cooks, like me, to get out there and experience some of these local producers who are without doubt world class.''
In addition to the new campaign, Milbourne has taken on an ambassadorial role for the Gowans Motor Group, allowing him to carry his produce in a signature Toyota FJ Cruiser.
``Ben's value and focus is very similar to our in terms of supporting local business and the community _ its passion,'' Gowans Motor Group principal dealer Adam Gowans said.

Milbourne said yesterday he was delighted to be launching the Regional Recipes concept.

``When you look around the North-West, there are so many quality producers and proud producers and we should celebrate that,'' he said.
``What better way to do that through a local paper which supports and celebrates local people?''
Milbourne noted the food transformation Tasmania had undergone in recent years _ to now be recognised internationally.
``Whenever you tell someone you are from Tassie, the first thing they want to talk about is food and wine,'' he said.
``We have the amazing advantage of growing the best produce in Australia and people pushing the envelope.
``Who would have thought we could produce one of the world's best sparkling wines? But we've got people like Ghost Rock out there doing these things and as they do it more, the more experienced and better we get at it.''
With his own company about to be formed, Milbourne is launching a Mexican cookbook later in the year, a Tasmanian cookbook in March, is hoping to launch a new TV series, and is also an ambassador for Cascade Breweries.

(Source: The Advocate, June 18, 2013)

Going from success to success!!

Ben's very successful Masterchef adventure earned him the prestigious title of BRAND AMBASSADOR for Australia's oldest brewery, Cascade.

Wednesday 13 March 2013 had marked the beginning of the annual hop harvest at Bushy Park Estates for the limited edition 2013 Cascade First Harvest Ale & Ben took an active part in this & also designed a special menu to match Cascade First Harvest Ale. 

 

Ben was also present at the Cascade First Harvest VIP launch event which took place in Hobart (May, 2013)..

Ben & Tassie Tourism

Ben has always been very passionate about everything Tasmanian. He particularly showed his interest towards Tasmanian Tourism Industry. Masterchef Australia (season 4) had spent a week filming in Tasmania and featured Stanley in an elimination episode.According to Minister of Tourism Scott Bacon, "A key drawcard for visitors heading to Tasmania was our exciting food and beverage experiences, and there's no doubt the coverage our state has received through MasterChef has been invaluable."

& even before the show got over Ben had met with the marketing people of Tourism Tasmania to discuss the potential to use his national profile to help promote Tasmania and attract visitors & boost awareness of the fantastic experiences the state has on offer.

Masterchef meets master bloggers for the T-QUAL Tick Race..

The T-QUAL Tick Race was created to showcase some of Australia's quality tourism operators that are endorsed by the T-QUAL Tick - Australia's symbol of tourism quality. Natalie Birt (Mummy Smiles), Caroline Makepeace (yTravel blog), Sarah (A Beach Cottage)- all famous bloggers & Lauren Bath, one of Australia's leading Instagrammer were the participants of the T-QUAL Tick race & completed two weeks of competition in five of Australia's States & Territories and experienced 24 of Australia's quality tourism businesses, sharing their experiences with their audiences online.

The bloggers concluded their journey in Tasmania, one of Australia's premier tourism destinations, with the Tasmanian Minister for Tourism, Scott Bacon, formally welcoming the race team at the Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery. Mr. Bacon was joined by Ben Milbourne, the newly appointed Accreditation Ambassador for the Tourism Industry Council Tasmania, whose ambassadorship was launched at the museum with media from around the state. Ben also explained what this T-QUAL Tick Race is all about. The four contestants of T-QUAL Tick Race also got a chance to dine with Ben.

 

Ben's New Role....

Masterchef finalist Ben Milbourne has a new role promoting high standards in Tasmanian tourism. The Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania has appointed the popular local cook, one of the stars of the MasterChef Australia TV series, as the state's first "accreditation ambassador".

His job is to promote good customer service, urge businesses to be accredited with the national T-QUAL scheme and encourage visitors to seek out places with the T-QUAL tick of approval.

Milbourne said Tasmanian tourism was riding a wave of success, thanks to MONA and an acclaimed new marketing campaign, and it was important to back this up by ensuring visitors were satisfied by their experiences.
"Tasmania has a great window of opportunity," he said. "Tourism is going to be huge in the next five years. We have to take away the hurdles that prevent people coming to Tasmania and make it easy to come.
"Accreditation means TICT can be their travel adviser."
TICT chief executive Luke Martin said Tasmanian tourism already had the highest rate of voluntary accreditation in the country.

(Source: The Mercury, April 06, 2013)

Ben & Andy's Tassie Adventure....

Earlier in 2013, Ben & Andy did a little Tassie adventure as part of different initiatives taken by Tourism Industry Council Tasmania to promote tourism in Tasmania. Some of the places they visited included Saffire Freycinet, Petuna Aquaculture, Cradle Mountain, Cape grim Tasmanian Natural Beef etc. Here's a little video where Andy joins Ben to have a look around Tassie: 

Devonport Food & Wine Festival

The Devonport Food & Wine Festival, held every March showcases produce & wines found around Devonport, Tasmania & they appointed Ben Milbourne as the Ambassador for the 2013 Devonport Food & Wine Festival. It was such a proud moment for Ben to be asked to represent his home town :)

Ben at Devonport Food and Wine Festival ambassador dinner:

Celebrity chef Janelle Bloom believes there is no better ambassador for Tasmanian produce than Ben Milbourne..

Bloom was a guest of Milbourne at Saturday night's Ambassador's Dinner where 80 people joined the  MasterChef  star for a four-course dinner.

``The dinner was absolutely brilliant,'' Bloom said.

``I met Ben before he was on  MasterChef  and was one of the panellists who interviewed all the potential contestants and I realised then he had what it takes to give the competition a shake,'' Bloom said.

``The event was amazing and the food was exceptional.''

Bloom said  Tasmania should stop looking for mainland chefs, who demand big money, to promote Tasmania's produce and look no further than Milbourne.

``There is nothing better than having a local, who knows the produce like the back of his hand, promote the food where he is from and most passionate about.''

Saturday night's dinner  menu was put together by Milbourne in consultation with the chefs at the Gateway Inn.

Milbourne said each of the dishes used a locally-sourced key ingredient.

``It was good to be in and out of the kitchen and able to have some down time and enjoy the food and have a drink,'' Milbourne said.

(Source: The Advocate, March 18, 2013)

“I called Ben and started freaking out,” Andy recalls.

           Not only did Andy take out season four’s title, he also secured a lucrative book
           deal and the chance for the world to check out his favourite recipes.

Problem was: he didn’t have many to offer.

“I had to provide the publishers with 80 to 100 recipes and have them tested in three weeks,” he says.
“I was so inexperienced going into the show – I didn’t have 80 recipes!”

Panic set in, and there was only one person who could calm him down.

“I called Ben and started freaking out,” Andy recalls.
“If you look at previous winners – Julie Goodwin is a mum ad cooks every night, same with Kate Bracks, and Adam Liaw is one smart dude – then there’s me who’s 24 years old and a sparky.”
Alone with a laptop and a million thoughts running through his head, Andy began jotting down all the food that inspires him. It’s this list that forms the basis of his first book The Next Element.
“I had most of the recipes by the time I went down to Tasmania to see Ben. Then, we tasted them all and we surprisingly didn’t have many stuff-ups,” says Andy.

          Andy's cook-book is broken into three sections - cooking for the family,
          cooking for friends and a new direction. 
          "The whole process took about eight weeks, from writing the recipes 
            to  publication - and doing it with Ben just made it so much 
            easier," Allen said.

(Source: The Examiner, Dec 1, 2012 & TV WEEK Magazine, Jan 9, 2013)

Ben at Starlight Children's Foundation pop-up..

As part of Australia's Largest Cooking Party that held on October 23th, 2012, the Starlight Children's Foundation had organised a pop up restaurant at The Grounds Of Alexandria to raise funds to transform lives of seriously ill children & their families. Ben along with Andy & Kylie Millar took active part in this & created a delicious four course Mexican menu for all the invited guests.

Images from the pop-up:

 

The dish Ben cooked there:
Adobo braised beef cheeks and pomme puree with deep fried tortillas, blistered vine tomatoes and a dark chocolate & orange jus.