More execs needed for CEO Cook-Off

More CEOs and senior leaders are needed to help dice onions, mix sauces and whip eggs with a call-out for more participants in this year’s CEO Cook-Off competition hosted by food charity, OzHarvest.

The OzHarvest CEO Cook-Off will see top level executives go head to head in preparing a range of dishes under the guidance of ambassador chefs from Australia’s most popular restaurants.

Roughly one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year – approximately 1.3 billion tonnes – gets wasted.

With just one month to go until the competitive cooking event, set to kick off March 6th at The Cutaway in Barangaroo, OzHarvest has called for more participants to join the event and help fundraise, with aims to raise $2 million in total. All funds will support OzHarvest’s work feeding Australia’s homeless and disadvantaged via food rescue programs, and responding to the critical food wastage issues facing society.

"Food is the aggregator, food is about sharing, caring, and dignity. Coming together is what bonds people, eating together bonds people, and that is the whole premise behind the CEO Cook-Off," says OzHarvest founder and CEO, Ronni Kahn

Meals prepared by CEOs and their teams will be served to more than 1,100 vulnerable Australians in attendance on the night.

Meals prepared by CEOs and their teams will be served to more than 1,100 vulnerable Australians in attendance on the night. The event also provides a great platform for CEOs to connect with other business leaders, celebrity chefs and media reps while enjoying healthy competition, and breaking bread with the community.

"We feed people who need a good meal, but first we take leaders who would normally get served, and turn the tables around and have them serve the needy," adds Kahn. Last year the event raised more than $1.6 million to support OzHarvest programs across food rescue, nutrition education, hospitality training for disadvantaged youth, and community engagement programs.

Australians throw out one out of every five shopping bags of food, which equates to every Australian household throwing out $1,036 worth of groceries each year.

The CEO Magazine is getting up front and centre with our founder and CEO, Chris Dutton, numbering among this year’s participants, with a fundraising target of $5,000. "I’m very proud to be helping raise funds for the CEO Cook-Off. It’s such a fantastic cause and I’m very much looking forward to getting some chopping done alongside some of this country's finest business leaders," he says.

Every $1 spent at the Soul Shop equals 2 meals.

Dutton will be cooking alongside 40 respected chefs and competing against almost 100 of Australia’s top business leaders including Andy Holmes, President of BP Australia, Perpetual CEO Geoff Lloyd, Woolworths’ CEO Brad Banducci, and Uber’s General Manager for Australia, David Rohrsheim.

Australia produces enough food to feed approximately 60 million people, yet two million people rely on food relief every year.

"To any business leader, CEOs, anyone who would hope that in their role of business leadership that they have accomplished a lot, my message is — you ain’t seen nothing yet if you haven’t been at the CEO Cook-Off," says Kahn. "So get your butt registered, get signed up so you can experience love, humility, generosity, gratitude and inspire your teams, because we have toolkits to get your whole company on board."

Business leaders unable to attend the event can still register their company to take part in fundraising activities. All money donated to OzHarvest or spent to register for the event is fully tax deductible.

Support OzHarvest raise $2,000,000 to feed those in need in the CEO CookOff