Cricket Australia interim chair David Boon and Cricket Tasmania chief executive Dominic Baker will swap their cricket bats for spatulas as Hobart hosts its first OzHarvest CEO CookOff.
The event will see 12 leaders work alongside some of Australia’s best chefs in a pop-up kitchen to cook and serve a three-course meal for more than 150 guests.
OzHarvest Tasmania general manager Jen Hegarty said the Hobart event follows a sold-out debut in Launceston last year.
“They’ll be led by Australia’s best chefs and they will be hands-on from the minute they arrive, rolling up their sleeves, on the knives, on the burners,” she said.
Every leader has committed to raising at least $5,000, with $1 covering two meals.
Hegarty said 14 leaders have already signed up, including former Richmond Tigers player Matthew Richardson, Tasmania Football Club chief executive Brendon Gale and Phaedra Deckhart from Solstice Energy, with around 10 places left.
Chefs Rodney Dunn, Luke Burgess, Analiese Gregory, Lily Trewartha and Michelin-starred Michael Wilson will lead the teams on Thursday, October 29 at TMAG.
Hegarty said demand for OzHarvest’s work is growing rapidly.
“43% of Tasmanians seeking food relief this year are doing so for the first time,” she said.
“They’re employed, they have mortgages, they have cars … we might be sitting next to in our workplace.”
OzHarvest works with 54 charities statewide and has delivered more than 1.2 million meals across Tasmania since October 2024.
Baker said it did not take much convincing to get involved.
“Cricket Tasmania was delighted to be part of It and I drew the short straw,” he said.
“No, I’m not too bad in the kitchen. I do my share at home, so those who have sampled the Baker hospitality will be expecting the lamb roast to roll out, I reckon.”
“There’ll be some healthy banter between our, our other sporting mates as well, don’t worry about that.”
Boon said the cause was an easy yes.
“At times in a state like ours, we can be quite naive about the difficulties that people can have,” he said.
“What we’re hoping to raise here will benefit those that are in need at the present moment in hard times.”
Since its inception in 2012, the CEO CookOff, has raised over $16 million across Australia enabling OzHarvest to deliver more than 32 million meals to people in need.
Leaders can sign up through the website.
