Meet the Candidates | How to Vote | Current Standings | Prizes | Join the Debate | Important Dates
The Wild West Gourmet Dinner Election 2026
Seven candidates. One dinner table. You decide.
New Zealand may have an election to think about, but we’ve got a far more immediate question:
Who deserves to be in charge of dinner?
Seven Wild West Gourmet favourites are hitting the campaign trail, each promising better burgers, stronger gravies, sharper sandwiches, more exciting cheese boards and, above all, fewer disappointing dinners.
👉 There will be policies.
👉 There will be debates.
👉 There may be scandal.
👉 Coalitions are already looking suspiciously likely.
👉 And thankfully, every single argument will be about food.
The polls open 12.01am Thursday 1 October and close 11.59pm Friday 6 November.
How the Dinner Election works
Voting is deliciously simple
When the polls are open:
1 eligible bottle or jar purchased online = 1 vote for that product.
Buy one Gherkin Relish? That’s one vote for Gherkin Relish.
Buy two Habanero Worcesters? Two votes for Habanero.
Buy a mixed order? Each eligible product casts its own vote.
At the end of the voting period, we’ll tally the official count and announce the Minister of Dinner 2026 after 7pm on Saturday 7 November.
Important dates
Polls open: 12.01am, Thursday 1 October
Polls close: 11.59pm, Friday 6 November
Official result: After 7pm, Saturday 7 November
Prize winners announced: Monday 9 November
Official votes are cast through eligible online purchases only.
Meet the Candidates
01
Worcester Sauce
The experienced all-rounder
Proven leadership. Better dinners.
Dependable, versatile and quietly confident, Worcester Sauce has spent years improving mince, gravy, pies, casseroles and marinades without demanding any recognition whatsoever.
Now it wants your vote.
02
Habanero Worcester
The sensible heat candidate
A little fire. A lot of flavour.
Habanero believes dinner can handle a bit more excitement without descending into total household chaos.
Warmth, depth and just enough fire to wake things up.
03
Ghost Pepper Worcester
The firebrand
No half measures. No bland dinners.
Ghost Pepper has declared bland food a national emergency and is refusing to moderate its position.
Decisive heat. Bold flavour. Zero tolerance for timid dinners.
04
Sweet Beetroot Relish
The sweet-talking crowd favourite
Bringing people — and burgers — together.
Sweet Beetroot is campaigning on harmony between sweet and savoury, with strong policy positions on burgers, cold meats, cheese boards and toasted sandwiches.
Charming? Yes. Well connected? Increasingly suspicious.
05
Pickled Onion Relish
The straight-talking traditionalist
Sharp thinking. Proper flavour.
Pickled Onion believes dinner has lost its backbone.
Its solution: more bite, more tang and considerably stronger sandwich policy.
06
Gherkin Relish
The crisp reformer
Fresh ideas. Tangy results.
Gherkin Relish is campaigning for brighter burgers, improved sandwiches and long-overdue reform of the nation’s potato salad.
Rich dinners, consider yourselves warned.
07
Kūmara & Banana Chutney
The unconventional visionary
Unexpected. Unforgettable. Unequivocally delicious.
The candidate people underestimate until they actually try it.
Rich, savoury, gently sweet and brilliant with cheese, curries, pies, cold meats and roasted vegetables.
And yes, it contains banana. No, it does not taste like banana.
Current Standings
The polls haven’t opened yet
The candidates are campaigning hard, but official voting begins on 1 October.
Once the first votes are counted, we’ll update the standings here.
No polling. No punditry. Just actual product votes.
Last updated: 27 August 2026
The Grand Coalition Pack
Vote, and you could win the whole cabinet!
Every eligible completed online order placed during the voting period gives you one entry into the draw for The Grand Coalition Pack — one of everything in our current Wild West Gourmet range.
For once, there’s absolutely no need to choose sides.
Products purchased = votes for candidates.
Completed online orders = entries into the prize draw.
The Co-Leaders Pack
Got opinions about dinner? Excellent.
You don’t have to place an order to get involved in the Dinner Election.
Leave a meaningful comment on an eligible official candidate, debate or polling post and you’ll earn an entry into the People’s Pundit Prize draw.
One lucky pundit will win:
THE CO-LEADERS PACK
One sauce + one relish or chutney of your choice.
Back a candidate. Defend your burger policy. Tell us what belongs on a cheese board. Question a suspicious condiment coalition.
Basically, if you have thoughts about dinner, we want to hear them.
One qualifying entry per person, per eligible post.
What happens on the campaign trail?
Between now and election night, expect:
- Candidate announcements
- Policy launches
- Dinner debates
- Breaking flavour news
- Endorsements from highly influential sandwiches
- Coalition negotiations
- Polling updates
- Referendums
- Questionable relationships with cheese
- At least one candidate becoming unnecessarily dramatic
Keep an eye on our Facebook page and emails as the campaign unfolds!
Join the campaign on Instagram
Official votes are cast through eligible online purchases only.
Frequently asked question's
Purchase an eligible Dinner Election candidate product through the Wild West Gourmet online shop between 12.01am on 1 October and 11.59pm on 6 November.
Each eligible bottle or jar equals one vote for that product.
Absolutely.
Every eligible candidate product purchased counts as one vote.
No. Official Dinner Election votes are based on eligible purchases through the Wild West Gourmet online shop so we can count and verify them accurately.
No.
Products determine votes.
For example, an order containing five eligible candidate products casts five votes across the products purchased.
Every eligible completed online order during the voting period receives one entry into the major prize draw.
Leave a meaningful comment on an eligible official Dinner Election candidate, debate or polling post.
One qualifying entry is available per person, per eligible post.
No.
The People’s Pundit Prize is based on eligible social-media participation.
The Minister of Dinner 2026 will be announced after 7pm on Saturday 7 November.
Prize winners will be announced on Monday 9 November after eligibility has been checked.
Democracy has never tasted this good.
Seven candidates have made their case. Now, it's over to the dinner table.
Shop your favourites. Cast your votes. Follow the scandals. Defend your condiment of choice.
And, on 7 November, we'll discover who becomes:
Minster of Dinner 2026!
Seven candidates. One dinner table. You decide!
The sensible bit
The Wild West Gourmet Dinner Election 2026 is a completely fictional food promotion run by EcoWild Ltd trading as Wild West Gourmet.
It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or intended to comment on any New Zealand political party, political candidate, the Electoral Commission, Facebook or Instagram.
Official Dinner Election voting runs from 12.01am 1 October 2026 to 11.59pm 6 November 2026, New Zealand time.
Small-batch. Northland-made. Trusted by flavour lovers.
Crafted in small batches, stocked by independent retailers, and made for real kitchens, BBQs, cheeseboards, and everyday meals across New Zealand.