Wellington On A Plate’s Burger Welly festival is hotly contested, with chefs around the city competing to win the hearts of its patrons with the perfect burger. Entering a league of its own this year is Everbody Eats’ The Rescued Burger, which hopes to raise $10,000 from one devoted diner.
The winning burger boasts a sustainably sourced tahr pattie, American cheddar cheese, ‘rescued’ butter pickles and housemade BBQ sauce. But the real value is helping the cause behind the unconventional cheeseburger.
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As with each meal served by the charitable dining concept Everybody Eats, food that would otherwise go to waste is turned into restaurant-quality fare with customers paying whatever they like, or can. The aim is to help solve issues with food waste, food poverty, and social isolation in one delicious dish.
The Rescued Burger is currently up for auction on Trade Me, with bids closing Monday the 30th of August. If it sells for the hoped-for price tag of $10,000 within this time, it will be the world’s most expensive burger — with all proceeds going to the charity so they can keep up the good work.
Currently, the title-holder is The Golden Boy burger from a Dutch diner called De Daltons. (It’s presented on a platter of whiskey-infused smoke and loaded with rich ingredients including Wagyu beef, king crab, beluga caviar, smoked duck egg mayo, and white truffle in Dom Perignon infused gold-coated buns.)
While Everybody Eats burger is for a much better cause than exorbitance, it has been confirmed that if you are the one to fork out upwards of $5000 on a burger, it will throw in a bottle of French Champagne, and a side of fries.
While the auction is running, Everybody Eats will be slinging the same burger option at its Te Aro outpost, so that everyone has a chance to enjoy the occasion.
“We get a great turnout at our restaurant in Wellington serving almost 600 people a week, so the demand is obviously there,” says founder Nick Loosley. “To take part in the festival and ensure that anyone can get involved is super exciting. Some of our regulars experience homelessness, so to be able to give them a delicious burger as part of a festival that they would otherwise be excluded from is humbling. We can give some of these burgers for free because of those giving generously to pay for their own, and there’s something really special about that.”
The Rescued Burger will be sold as part of Burger Welly on Tuesday 17th, 24th and 31st of August. It’s takeaway only, and likely to sell out. If you miss out, you can always place a bid online for the contender of the world’s most expensive burger.
Everbody Eats Wellington
60 Dixon Street
Te Aro, Wellington
