New Zealand Culinary Team To Compete In Chicago

26 March 2007

New Zealand Culinary Team To Compete In Chicago

Some of New Zealand’s leading chefs are honing their skills and sharpening their knives as they prepare to go head-to-head with chefs from around the globe in the American Culinary Classic in Chicago from 19-23 May.

The event which is said to be one of the world’s top culinary competitions will involve handpicked teams from 11 other countries including the Bahamas, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey, USA and Wales.

The New Zealand Culinary Team (NZCT) comprises six renown chefs from restaurants and hotels across the country: Jonny Schwass – Sezn Restaurant, Christchurch; Steve Le Corre –Aoraki Polytechnic, Timaru; Andrew Brown - The Millennium Hotel, Christchurch; Cameron Lawless - Season’s Café, Auckland; Pauline Nunns - Weltec, Wellington and; Darren Wright - Harbour 71, Akaroa. They will be assisted in their quest for a gold medal at the Classic by a support crew of three other chefs.

NZCT Team business manager, Gary Miller, said the Team which is sponsored by Nestlé FoodServices, had been hard at work preparing for the event since their return from last years FHA Culinary Challenge in Singapore.

“By the time they compete in Chicago they will have notched up a combined total of over 500 hours preparation time,” Gary said.

When they arrive in Chicago, the team will be required to compete in both hot and cold food categories at the Classic.

“The hot food category requires the team to prepare 80 portions of a three-course meal over a five hour period,” Gary said.

“The cold food competition requires the preparation of a range of finger foods or tapas, a menu of the day, a restaurant platter and a festive menu of four main course dishes.

“There’s also a pastry category where the team have to prepare two different cakes, a sweet or cheese platter, and four different desserts - it’s a very intense competition.”

Gary said having a New Zealand Culinary Team competing in such high profile international events was extremely important for New Zealand.

“Having a presence at international competitions helps to effectively market New Zealand export goods and promote the country as a culinary destination.”

After competing in the Chicago Classic, the team plans to take part in other international cooking events including ScotHot in Scotland in 2009 and the Singapore FHA Culinary Challenge in 2010.

ENDS

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