Young chefs Jessica Chand and Mary Elzir have won the New South Wales leg of the Nestle Golden Chefs Hat award and will now be part of the national final in September in Sydney.
Chand, 21, and Elzir, 23, both chefs at the Sydney Convention Centre, beat a staggering 18 other junior and apprentice chef teams from around the state in the tense cook-off held at the Northern Beach/ Brookvale TAFE kitchens.
During the mystery ingredients box cook-off, each team was scored on the presentation and overall taste of the entrée, main and dessert dishes they create under pressure cooker conditions by a judging and kitchen panel including Nestlé chefs, local restaurateurs and members of the Australian Culinary Federation.
The young chefs impressed judges with their cook-off dishes, including Tortellini of Sole served with red pepper salsa and tom yum foam.
“Competing is all about gaining experience and the knowledge of what works and what doesn’t in a pressured environment and I know all the competitors learnt something valuable from the day and had a great experience,” said NSW head judge, Australian Culinary Federation president, Peter Wright.
Team leader Elzir entered the Nestlé Golden Chefs Hat Award in 2006 and says the experience made her go all out to win this year. “Having not made it to the finals last year, I was even more determined to make it this time,” she said. “We worked really hard to prepare for yesterday’s cook-off.”
The team that triumphs at the national finals in Sydney will win a $12,000 international culinary training trip to the 2008 World Culinary Olympics. The prize will be an invaluable opportunity to see some of the world’s top chefs in action, catch up on the latest trends and meet with key industry people.
The Nestlé Golden Chefs Hat Award is the only national culinary competition dedicated to the development of junior and apprentice chefs under 23 years of age.
The award has been running for 40 years and recognises cuisine innovation and excellence. It is coordinated annually by the Australian Culinary Federation and solely sponsored by Nestlé.
