The final of Recipe to Riches was tasty and quick here’s hoping there is more.
Garth Midgley of Clarinda (VIC) was crowned the winner of Recipe To Riches, with his original culinary creation, Chocorn, outperforming fellow contestants Vicki Cameron-Smith’s (QLD) chocolate sandwich cookies and Connie Tavella’s (NSW) croquettes in a final three showdown.
Based on a much-loved recipe, Garth’s chocolate-coated popcorn generated the highest “sell through rate” of all the products featured on Recipe To Riches.
Chocorn sold out in more of the 900 Woolworths stores nationally than any other product in the series.
Garth took home the grand prize of $100,000 and a partnership with Woolworths set to change his life.
Recipe To Riches expert and Carman’s Fine Foods owner Carolyn Creswell said: “Garth winning is what the show is truly all about. It’s seeing someone’s dream come true.
“I love that this product is pure innovation. A recipe that didn’t exist, 10 years of sweat and tears, almost throwing it all away six months ago when nothing had happened and now becoming the next Australian iconic food brand. I’m over the moon for him and his exciting journey ahead.”
The 35-year-old managing director of a computer games company and occasional rock band guitarist said: “I’m so excited that I’m now able to share Chocorn and all of its flavours with the whole of Australia. And I’m excited by the prospect of working with Woolworths and their product development team on Chocorn.
“This is like my childhood Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory dreams come true.”
Garth has been developing and experimenting with Chocorn for 10 years, since he first went to his local cinema and had a light bulb moment while ordering popcorn and a choc-top. Would the two work as one? Thanks to Garth, we will never need to choose between chocolate and popcorn again.
Garth said: “I must have made millions of pieces of Chocorn, tried out thousands of flavour combinations and put it through hundreds of focus group tests with friends and family to get the base recipe and all of the different flavours just right.”
Garths’s Chocorn will hit Woolworths stores nationwide in the new year.
Network Ten Head of Entertainment and Factual Programming, Stephen Tate, said: “True innovation is rare in television these days. This has been an Australian first. Watch the show and taste the recipe the next day. Recipe To Riches has been the tastiest show we have ever made.”
