New Zealand's Finest Chefs On Show

The exhilarating NZ Chefs Championships and Global Chefs Challenge Pacific Rim Semifinal, hosted by NZ Chefs, was on show at Fine Food New Zealand.

The competition highlighted the best local talent from New Zealand and was competed across the three days of the expo.

Manawatu chef, Andrew May, won the NZ Chefs Championship. As head chef of Amayjen, this is not the first time May has won a national title, winning Scottish Chef of the Year for 2009/2010 whilst working in the United Kingdom. May said that it was a proud moment for him to win the competition.

“To win this award was a big deal for me, as it’s been a goal for a few years. Running a restaurant takes a lot of time and hard work, so fitting into the competition was a little tricky at times, but I reorganised a few things at work and managed to focus on it. You know you have to be in the right head space, and to achieve these results, in the end, was very rewarding and made me very proud of myself,” said May.

The competition asked chefs to prepare three courses and a mystery box challenge was thrown into the mix. The challenge meant that May and his fellow chefs had to think quickly, as they had one hour to prepare a meal for four people using only kohlrabi, okra, brussels sprouts and potatoes, and a beef fillet.

For May, the highlight of the competition was being able to claim the top spot in two different countries, which is quite an accomplishment. A lot of organisation went into planning his trip to Auckland whilst ensuring that his restaurant was left in safe hands.

New Zealand Chefs also held the Emerging Chef competition, which saw Culrprit Restaurant chef Sam Gradowski-Smith take the top prize.

Gradowski-Smith, a student at the New Zealand School of Food and Wine, said that he competed to get the job done and do his best.

“This being my first attempt at a competition, it was nerve-racking, I was happy with what I produced, and it got me the gold medal which will create memories to last forever. Next time I would try and take a deep breath and smile more - I can be a bit hard on myself,” said

Gradowski-Smith.

Competitors were tasked with developing an entree featuring Lumina lamb and a main course of Akaroa Salmon. The New Zealand School of Food and Wine tasked students with creating a menu planning business module, designing a spreadsheet of quantities and costs and a time plan to execute.

Silver medalist Indira Devi said the preparation was the easy part of the competition. Still, after the first practice trial, she knew her thoughts and actions differed.

“We have so much going on in our mind, but when it was actually on the plate, I understood what paired well and didn’t do well in the dish,” said Devi.

Owner of Te Anau restaurant The Fat Duck, Cameron Davies, has earned respect as one of New Zealand’s top chefs. He has now secured that reputation by winning the prestigious Global Chef Pacific Rim Semifinal at Fine Food NZ in Auckland. By winning the competition, Davies will now go on to represent New Zealand at the Global Chef Final in Singapore, which is due in October 2024. Davies will then battle it out with the finest chefs worldwide.

NZ Chefs organised the Global Chef Pacific Rim Semifinal and saw entrants from all over New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, and the Cook Islands go head-to-head in a live kitchen cook-off at Fine Food New Zealand in front of crowds of people.

Davies prefers to cook with fresh produce, much like the ingredients he uses at his restaurant. His work on the night featured Akaroa Salmon, presenting a dish of sake-cured Akaroa Salmon, smoked salmon and pickled vegetable tartlet. He then attracted the judge’s attention with his main which celebrated the finest lamb in the country, surrounded with seasonal vegetables, 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.

Davies plated up a combination of sweet and citrus for his third course with his chocolate mandarin. The dessert was made using chocolate mousse and almond mandarin cake. Davis was said to have been elated with the win, following months of hard work and preparation for the competition.

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

Meet The Chef

Brooke Moore

CLEAVER & CO, The Freeport, Mt Maunganui

After scaling the country to find the best-toasted sandwich, the Great Toastie Takeover has just wrapped up for 2023. The search proved successful, with Mount Maunganui’s Freeport with Cleaver & Co taking home the top honours.

The Chef behind the creation, Brooke Moore, had wanted to enter the competition for years but said there needed to be more time and staff to make it happen at the restaurant. However, This year, her head chef handed it to her, knowing she had the passion and dedication to make something impressive.

“I knew my toastie had to showcase some form of smoked meat, but I also wanted to showcase the bay region. Hence the surf and turf idea. I’ve always loved surf and turf, and I’d never seen it in toastie form,” said Moore.

Moore’s toasted sandwich initially included a nduja prawn cake with cheese and smoked lamb shoulder, which tasted great but was challenging. She also felt that this complicated her surf and turf idea. So when going back to the drawing board, she knew it was time to create something of equal measure, but that was just slightly toned down.

The new and improved sandwich proved to be popular with locals, who apparently begged the restaurant to keep it on the menu.

Moore’s earliest memory of cooking was with her Mum at the age of three. She started her first hospitality job at 14 and began her career as a kitchen hand in a retirement village, peeling vegetables and preparing toast. She worked as a baker before opening her own creative dessert shop in Taupo, before working with a team to open her first restaurant.

She recently moved to Tauranga to work at the Freeport with Cleaver & Co, working her way up to the barbeque division of the kitchen, somewhere she has always wanted to work.

“My favourite thing about my job is the ability to pour your soul into what you’re cooking. With the barbeque, it’s plain as day whether or not you’re cooking with love. I thrive on developing new ideas, new ways to utilise the smoker, and learning new techniques. Kiwis are not really familiar with the art of barbequing, as it’s far from the sausage sizzler in the backyard.

The following steps for Moore were to continue honing in on her skills and learn as much as possible. Her ultimate goal has been to work in a restaurant of her own, whatever format that may be. She has always been intrigued by the relationship between food and psychology and wishes to pursue this further.

Moore added that this can be a harsh industry and that resilience will go a long way, as well as being able to take criticism. She added that the most challenging part is learning the ropes and being able to make mistakes, but once a cook has found their feet in the kitchen,

Moore said that it was easier to adapt to a routine.

Her advice to anyone wanting to pursue a career in the kitchen would always be to work cleanly and to keep high standards. She said it was optional to worry about what other people are up to and not stoop to others’ levels.

One of Moore’s highlights throughout her career was inventing an edible and flavoured bioplastic wrap when she was 16. She holds her achievements dear to her, and she has enjoyed all her hard work paying off. She said that food was more than just fuel; it would serve many purposes if you think outside the box.