The hunt for WA's Signature Dish is on!

Love cooking? Well then the hunt for WA's Signature Dish is calling your name!

This annual competition offers foodies state-wide the opportunity to showcase their love of WA produce, something I'm quite passionate about myself. And with such beautiful ingredients at our fingertips like Esperance scallops, Pemberton fingerlimes or Swan Valley asparagus, can you blame me? We really are blessed with the beauty of fresh food. 

Images supplied by: Peter Maloney, DAFWA

Whether you've perfected a family favourite seafood dish using fresh Shark Bay wild prawns, or you've mastered your own concoction showcasing local jarrah honey, this is the competition for you. I'm really excited to be signed on as one of the official bloggers for this event, with my focus being on the Kimberley region with Chef Chris Taylor from iconic restaurant, Frasers. I'm really looking forward to seeing what my fellow West Aussies come up with to showcase our state on a plate!

This competition provides foodies and amateur cooks the chance to battle it out for the title of Buy West Eat Best's WA Signature Dish for 2015. To enter, all you need to do is select ingredients from a preferred region and enter your recipe before 21 September. 

Here's the different regions this competition is representing, and the wonderful ingredients at your fingertips to showcase

Gascoyne Region

• Wild Shark Bay prawns (Northern Star Ocean products)
• Carnarvon grown tomatoes, capsicum, zucchini, eggplant and chilli (Loveapple)
• Shark Bay mullet, scallops, pink snapper and whiting (recommended by the WA Fishing Industry Council)

Kimberley Region

• Cone Bay ocean barramundi (marine produce)
• Ord River chickpeas (Ord River District Co-operative)
• Fresh Kimberley grown beans and corn (Trandos Farms)
• Kununurra sweet potato (Western Desert)

Peel Region

• Peel sea mullet and sand whiting (Wattsie's Place)
• Baldivis rabbit (Baldivis Farm Fresh)
• Harvey beef
• Borello cheese
• Linley Valley pork
• Supafresh baby leaves (Trodan Produce)

Swan Valley and Surrounds

• The bitter bush
• Swan Valley goats milk and natural yoghurt (Caprino Farm)
• Fresh asparagus (Edgecombe Brothers)
• Swan Valley gourmet fungi, king oyster, pink and white oyster, shiitake and portabello mushrooms (David and Bridgett Proudmore)
• Swan Valley honey
• Marron (Nagle marron and silver perch farm)

So besides the glory, the prestige and everything in between... why enter? Well the four finalists (one from each region) will be mentored by one of WA's well-esteemed chefs, then battle it out during a 60 minute live cook off at Gourmet Escape's Chef's Theatre to decide the winning dish. From there, the person crowned with WA's Signature Dish will receive two days mentoring with Guillaume Brahimi at Bistro Guillaume in Crown Perth, a trip for two to a luxurious remote Western Australian location for a wine and dine experience and the opportunity to meet some of WA’s most respected chefs and industry figures along the way.

I really encourage those of you who love to cook to enter this competition. Because if you love our state like I do, and the beautiful produce we have on offer, it's the opportunity to write a love letter in the form of a recipe. In the form of showcasing the beauty of our region. 

To enter the competition and for more information visit www.wasignaturedish.com.au. Stay tuned on my blog and social media for updates, and to hear all about this competition as it progresses.