THE competition was fierce at this year’s WA Oceanafest International Chefs competition but it was the visiting Singaporean team that came out on top.

The team—which tested its culinary skills against teams from around Australia in the prestigious Restaurant of Champions competition—included members of the world champion national Singaporean team.

The team was closely followed by Team Australia which included such strong competitors as chef Shane Keighley from the Mullaloo Beach Hotel in Perth. Keighley is Australia’s Global Chefs Representative and captain of the current team. The judges awarded the team a gold medal.

Taking out the award for Chef of the Year was the Perth Convention Centre’s Telina Menzies while Most Outstanding Training provider was the West Coast Academy of Hospitality and Tourism.

Most Oustanding Establishment was the Perth Convention Centre.

Held as part of the major trade show event Fine Food Perth, the three day Oceanafest 2007 was the ninth year of the competition that has grown to become one of the Pacific Rims highest profile culinary events.

The judging panel featured some of the world’s best including acclaimed chef and judge, Rudolf Muller, the executive chef of Disney, Hong Kong, Otto Weibel, the director of kitchens at the Raffles, the Plaza & Swissotel, Eric Teo from the Orchard Hotel in Singapore, pastry chef Ingo Schwartz from South Australia and recent Black Hat recipient Gary Farrell.

For more on Oceanafest 2007 look for a full wrap up of the event in Hospitality magazine’s May issue.