Mystery Creek Meatstock whets appetite for more

Monday, 26 February 2024

Barbecue and music festival Meatstock was a resounding success at Mystery Creek, while organisers hope to stage the event in Hamilton again next year.

Waikato Times was on hand to soak up the smoke tinged atmosphere on Sunday, following a sell out crowd on Saturday.

West Auckland graphic designer Steven Cook contributed to meaty aroma wafting across the site. His team, Cook Cartel was competing in Sunday’s Barbecue Wars, he’s hoping to be titled the grand champion.

To earn that accolade they needed to win a few categories out of the five proteins: chicken, lamb, pork, pork ribs, and brisket.

Cook is confident that he’ll get all five proteins across the line.

“'I’m in my happy place, man. This is my fun. It can be stressful and tiring, but it's what I like to do.”

Cook Cartel know what success in BBQ wars looks like. Cook quietly mentions that they won Melbourne Meatstock last year winning grand champion - with a perfect score for lamb and first place in brisket.

The hardest one this year will be the brisket.

“It’s the biggest cut, trickiest one to cook, it’s enjoyable to cook.”

Cook said the most enjoyable part of the festival for him is the competition itself.

“You’re competing against 50 of the best pitmasters in Australasia.

“And when you hear your named called onto the big stage like that, it’s just one of those things when you can get [your dish] in front of people who have been doing it for years and years, own barbecue restaurants and are chefs, and here we are, just a couple of brothers from West Auckland.”

There’s a lot to consider to grill the perfect barbecue, and Cook practises many times every week.

“There's a big decrease in air pressure because it’s raining [today], and also the humidity because we're trying to set the rub to get the color really nice.”

Although Cook Cartel’s grub was only for judges to try, there was also plenty for the crowd to chew on.

Daniel Warner from Putaruru and Joe Lewis from Auckland met up at the festival early Sunday morning. After finishing a skewer bouquet and a burger they said they loved the music and food, and are definitely coming back again.

Others came across the Tasman to see New Zealand and promote their beloved barbecue culture.

Brett Connell, from Flamin’ Mongrels, flew over to show Kiwis that live fire cooking is cool - although he was sweating near the fire - and not so hard.

“It's so simple, you can light a fire and a tripod is all you need. You don't need any equipment to do live fire cooking. That’s the best bit.”

Caged inside grilling pork chops, cabbage, lamb shoulder and swigging a can of beer, Connell wanted to show people that barbecue is good for a whole feast.

The “how long would it take” is a question everyone asks when they see a cooking like this, Connell said.

“The answer is when it's done. So don't don't say to your guests:’Dinner's at six.’ Dinner's ready when it's ready.”

As a seasoned Meatstocker, this is Connell’s first festival in New Zealand. He said he loved the community and was overwhelmed by the crowds and competitors.

Renowned international pitmaster, Mel Chmilar Jr from Canada, shared his enthusiasm for New Zealand Wagyu.

“It was absolutely incredible. So ‘well done’ to you guys out there.”

Dave King and Michelle King who run a barbecue catering and masterclass business from Nelson, said New Zealand’s wood for fuel and smoking is “second to none.”

Dave’s favourite wood is cherry and Michelle’s is pohutukawa.

While there weren’t many female pitmasters, Michelle said her journey started alongside Dave’s and had grown alongside their marriage.

Festival director Jay Beaumont said the Mystery Creek venue is world class, and there’s still a lot of space to expand the festival.

“This is such a special venue unlike anything in Australia,” he said the big venue allowed the largest number of events for Meatstock so far.

“We would hope that it brings millions of dollars of economic stimulus to the region. So I know in Toowoomba, we bring nearly $5 million worth of economic stimulus to the region. So I think this would be something maybe similar.”

Beaumont said they had great experience working with the local team, and would like to come back. Wanting to build good relationships, the team cancelled a planned fireworks show after hearing community concerns.

“We’re concerned about the animals, and the noise the fireworks create on the animals.”

“At end of the day, to local residents sometimes events can be inconvenient, so we want to do our very best to mitigate the inconvenience to local residents, and take on board their feedback. At end of the day, we’d like to keep coming to Mystery Creek, keep coming to the area, so it’s in our best interest to mitigate any issues.”