Warrington Wolves winger Josh Charnley has been crowned Hoover’s ‘Cook-off clash champion’ after beating tough competition from teammates Anthony Gelling, Stefan Ratchford, Luther Burrell and club legend, Bennie Westwood.
Throughout August, several players from Warrington Wolves RLFC, for which Hoover is the principal club sponsor, have taken part in the brand’s Cook-off Clash, an online cooking challenge which saw them put together weekly themed dishes to be judged by Hoover’s brand ambassador, Simon Rimmer.
The knockout tournament eliminated a player each week, crowning a winner at the end of the challenge. After four weeks of tasty dishes, Josh Charnley reigned supreme.
Weekly themes for the players to get their teeth into, created by Simon, were best pasta dish, best dish using something from a can, best veggie/vegan dish and finally, showstopper.
One of the competition’s more unusual dishes came in the form of a crab meat salad, starring canned pineapple, by Anthony Gelling.
However, the shock of the competition came when club legend and food truck owner, Bennie Westwood, was knocked out in the first round, something which left fans on social media astonished.
Throughout the campaign Hoover and Warrington Wolves gave away on-the-spot prizes to people who submitted their own dishes on Twitter using the hashtag #CookOffClash and tagging @Hoover_UK and @WarringtonRLFC.
“I enjoy cooking and am over the moon to have won,” said Josh.
“Lockdown has meant I’ve been cooking more and I’m happy to have beaten my teammates. The competition has been the talk of training and we’ve all had a laugh with it – some of the dishes were not great in my opinion and I let my teammates know!
“Hopefully we’ve inspired more people to get into the kitchen and try their hand at different dishes and it was fantastic to see people engaging with us, sharing their photos on social media.”
Hoover’s brand ambassador and judge of the competition, Simon Rimmer, added: “The lads were brilliant sports and put a lot of effort into their weekly entries, but it was Josh’s consistency which ultimately led him to be crowned winner.
“It’s been heartening to see people also joining in from home too and we’re just so happy to have helped fill the time during these strange times. If a nation of better chefs come out of this turbulent year it will be at least one positive thing, that’s for sure!”
