Te Anau Chef Wins Place At Global Chef Final In Singapore

At his Te Anau restaurant, The Fat Duck, chef owner Cameron Davies has earned respect as one of New Zealand’s top chefs. Now he has secured that reputation by winning the prestigious Global Chef Pacific Rim Semi-final at Fine Food NZ in Auckland. The win means Cameron will now go on to represent New Zealand at the Global Chef Final in Singapore in October 2024, taking on some of the best chefs in the world.

The Global Chef Pacific Rim Semi-Finals, organised by NZ Chefs, saw chefs and their support teams from New Zealand, Australia, Fiji and the Cook Island go head-to-head in a live kitchen challenge in front of crowds of people attending the hospitality trade show.

Hailing from one of New Zealand’s most picturesque lakeside towns, Cameron’s surroundings are rich in premium produce and potential ingredients, which gave him the knowledge to create as entrée featuring Akaroa Salmon, presenting a dish of sake cured Akaroa Salmon, and smoked salmon and pickled vegetable tartlet.

Attracting the judges’ attention, he went on to plate up a main celebrating New Zealand’s finest lamb and seasonal vegetables with dukkah crusted Lumina lamb saddle, crispy sweetbread bonbon and a warm salad of Brussels sprouts, broad beans and pecorino with a Madeira and hazelnut jus.

For the final dish, Cameron played on the perfect combination of citrus and chocolate to create a dessert of a chocolate mandarin made using chocolate mousse, and an almond and mandarin cake.

Cameron says he was elated with the win which followed months of hard work and preparation for the big event.

“On the day, you have to get everything right from the final dishes through to impressing the judges with your skills and technique. It’s fast-paced and a lot of pressure but the end result is worth it all.”

Action in the NZ Chefs live kitchen also saw Andrew May win NZ Chef of the Year; Sam Gradowski-Smith – a student at the NZ School of Food and Wine awarded Akaroa / House of Knives Emerging Chef of the Year, and NZ Pastry Chef of the Year was won by Ben Chevré, a chef and pastry chef at Little French Pastry in Auckland.

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