Competition updates

YOUNG CHEFS PREPARE TO COMPETE IN THE NESTLÉ GOLDEN CHEF’S HAT AWARD

Young chefs from around New Zealand are gearing up to compete in the regional finals of the 2022 Nestle´ Golden Chef’s Hat Award.

All the chefs, aged 18-24 years, have entered the competition for a chance to ignite their culinary careers and will be going all out to win the top award.

There are two New Zealand regional finals with the South Island event taking place in Christchurch and the North Island competition being held in Auckland. Competing chefs will each create a two-course menu (main and dessert dishes) and will have their cooking judged to globally recognised culinary standards.

Two winners will be chosen from the New Zealand regional finals. They will win an all expenses paid trip to Melbourne, to compete in a public arena at the Fine Food Expo, against 10 top Australian chefs this September. One winner will take out the title of Golden Chef of the Year along with a $10,000 cash prize.

Now in its 57th year, the Nestlé Golden Chef’s Hat Award supports top emerging culinary talent from New Zealand and Australia to kick start their careers. Kiwi chef Sam Heaven won the top award in 2020.

SOUTH ISLAND REGIONAL FINALS

26 July @ Ara Institute of Canterbury

• Hallie Graham (Picton) • Zak Osborne (Christchurch) • Eileen Prasad (Christchurch) • Joosje Bouman (Christchurch) • Sarah Barradell (Christchurch) • Gabby Sanders (Christchurch) • Anshul Gurung (Christchurch) • Chris Park (Christchurch) • Matt Kennedy (Christchurch)

NORTH ISLAND REGIONAL FINALS

28 July @ Ignite Colleges

• Jacob Aomarere-Poole (Feilding) • Daeshance Cook (Taupo) • Max Zhang Yao Loh (Wellington) • Jimmy Whitefield (Wellington) • Olive Ona (Rotorua) • Isaac Thorp (Auckland) • Shubham Jaglan (Rotorua) • Baxter Neill (Porirua) • Maya Machuca (Auckland)

MEET SOME OF THE REGIONAL FINALISTS

HALLIE GRAHAM

My career aspirations are to eventually open my own restaurant and for it to one day be listed in the World’s Top 50. I would love to have that level of creative freedom and to design an entirely unique experience from scratch. I also aim to further develop my own signature culinary style through travelling and being exposed to many different cultures and people.

BAXTER NEILL

I decided to enter Golden Chef’s to challenge myself and grow my cooking skills, and to get some exposure so I can grow my connections in the industry. When I am older, I want to open my own fine dining restaurant, celebrating sustainability and New Zealand cuisine.

EILEEN PRASAD

I have done competitions before and they are always a great learning experience for me because it teaches you how to handle pressure, how to be organised and how to cook with constraints.

MAX LOH

I decided to enter the competition because of the opportunity I saw for myself as a developing chef and culinary student. It also provides me with a new challenge and an opportunity to work my chef magic.

The judges in this year’s Great NZ Toastie Takeover have a difficult decision ahead as 13 outstanding finalists are revealed in the battle for the country’s top toasted sandwich.

With a whopping 100,000 toasties served up since the first round of judging began on April 13, the competition’s more than 180 entries have now been whittled down to 13 finalists across six regions.

Those finalists hail from all over the country and encompass local eateries, rural roadside cafes, breweries, a food truck, a fish farm, a burger bar, an artisan food store, and a newly opened toasted sandwich bar.

Competition criteria required sandwiches to be toasted between two slices of bread and – like all respectable toasties – able to be eaten by hand. The toasted sandwiches also needed to contain cheese (or a vegan substitute) and McClure’s Pickles, with all the other ingredients left entirely to the entrants’ imaginations.

Head judge Kerry Tyack noted that those imaginations ran wild this year, presenting his team of 30-plus judges with an extremely tough task in choosing the finalists.

“It feels like this year, amidst all the Covid chaos, the toastie has reached the lofty heights of the great Kiwi pie, the whitebait fritter, the perfect pav, and the cheese roll, and can now be accorded the status of national treasure,” he said.

“The judging team assessed many, many standouts in this year’s entries. Chefs tackling the toastie have clearly got the hang of making sure it is well toasted, easy to eat - even on the run, and has the right balance of complementary ingredients to keep customers coming back time and again.

A variety of smoked and slow-cooked meats can be found among the ingredients in this year’s finalists, including pork, brisket, lamb shoulder, and salmon. Delicious cheese blends also feature, while several finalists have made inventive use of the McClure’s Pickles range, including using pickle brine and crispy fried pickles. Some finalists also chose to extend the toastie experience by including sides and tempting dippers, like gravy and tomato soup.

AUCKLAND

ARCHIE CAFÉ: Pepper Pig: Hot pork, double cheese blend, McClure’s Sweet & Spicy Pickles, mustard and sriracha on toasted sourdough.

WYNYARD PAVILION: Low & Slow: Low & slow smoked wagyu brisket, Massimo’s mozzarella, McClure’s Sweet & Spicy Pickles, truffle aioli and Old Yella habanero mustard. THE PUBLIC OFFICE (Ngatea, Coromandel): The Smoky Pork & Pickle: Cider braised pork, smoky wood sauce, melted gouda and McClure’s Sweet & Spicy Pickles, topped with crispy fried pickles.

OKERE FALLS STORE (Rotorua): Get Smoked, Pickled + Toasted: House smoked, beer brined brisket, McClure’s Sweet & Spicy Pickles, hop salted mozzarella, smoked cheddar, watercress and horseradish on Bread Asylum X Lumberjack Brewing spent grain sourdough with pickle brine sour cream and a beer gravy dipping bowl.

WAIKATO / BAY OF PLENTY / COROMANDEL / ROTORUA

Finalist judging commences in July with the competition’s toastmaster royale who will now visit all 13 finalists to sample their entries before liaising with Tyack and McClure’s Pickles co-founder Joe McClure to determine New Zealand’s top toasted sandwich. McClure had planned to be in New Zealand for this round of judging, but plans have again been thwarted by Covid.

“I’m gutted to miss another great competition but will be involved from home base in Detroit. The toasties all sound epic and we’re immensely grateful that Kiwis are as supportive as they’ve ever been when it comes to this competition,” he said. “Hopefully I make it back next year.”

Each finalist will now receive a case of McClure’s Pickles and dine-in vouchers to be given away via social media this month. The competition’s supreme winner will be announced on July 27.

TOASTIE OHAKUNE (Ohakune): Owen’s Missus, Who Takes No SCHMACK: Corned beef, pickled carrots, Pepper & Me ‘Schmack Sauce’, McClure’s Bread & Butter Pickles and four cheeses.

BEST BURGERS (Havelock North): A Cluckin Patty Melt: Chicken fried Best Burgers patty, Swiss cheese, bacon & onion Jam, McClure’s Bread & Butter Pickles, Best Burgers Special Sauce on house potato bread.

WELLINGTON

BREW UNION (Palmerston North): Pork & Rye: Pickled pork, jalapeno, date and smoked gouda cheese sauce, American mustard mayo and McClure’s Sweet & Spicy Pickles on rye bread.

THE OFFERING (Greytown): Beef Greytown (Our take on a classic): Four cheese blend with Parkvale mushrooms, onion and baby spinach, thyme and parsley to form a spread, French mustard, pulled hot smoked rump beef with a chipotle BBQ Sauce, McClure’s Bread & Butter Pickles, white cheese sauce, all nestled between toasted marble rye bread. LITTLE NESSIE CAFÉ (Nelson): Toasted Reuben: Pastrami, Swiss cheese, McClure’s Sweet & Spicy Pickles, sauerkraut, secret sauce.

BEERS (Christchurch): Lamb Margera: Smoked lamb shoulder, Swiss cheese, McClure’s Sweet & Spicy Pickles, kimchi and onion rings on sourdough.

LOWER SOUTH ISLAND

MORNING MAGPIE (Dunedin): Tickle My Pickle: Organic sourdough, McClure’s Sweet & Spicy Pickles with house pickles, a big slab of Evansdale cheese, served with a dipper of tomato soup. (Also, a finalist in 2021)

HIGH COUNTRY SALMON (Twizel): Loco Mexicano: Cold smoked salmon, McClure’s Sweet & Spicy Pickles, corn salsa, avocado, cheese, spinach, cornflakes, and chilli mayo, in toasted rye sourdough. Served with fries.