Mr Tremain Criticises Mr Kerr’s Comments

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30534, 1 September 1964, Page 18

Mr Tremain Criticises Mr Kerr’s Comments

The remarks about some cooks’ entries for New Zealand’s first National Food Fair by a catering adviser to the N.Z. Meat Board, Mr G. Kerr, were yesterday described by another catering adviser to the Meat Board (Mr A. Tremain, as “out of character.” “hypercritical,” “destructive,” and “discouraging.” Mr Tremain said he was an excellent friend of Mr Kerr’s, but he felt he would be doing the cooking industry in N.Z a disservice to remain silent when Mr Kerr had described various entries at the fair as “abominable,” “terrible," “ghastly,” and “dreadful." “Next time the Christchurch cooks and chefs might say they are too busy to enter the contests,” said Mr Tremain. “After all, Mr Kenasked that local chefs cooperate.” '*r Tremain said he had adition for Mr Kerr’s ability . an organiser and Mr Kerr had done an excellent job in

promoting the Food Fair. “But I would not say he was very encouraging by saying the’ food was ‘abominable’,” said Mr Tremain.

“Ninety per cent of the exhibits have come from perhaps the four main hotels in Christchurch. As well as preparing exhibits’, these hotel cooks are ‘flat to the boards’ doing their normal work. “As far as the present exhibits and past exhibits are concerned, I’d think that 90 per cent of them are of international standard.” Mr Tremain said that because a few exhibits had, perhaps. not been up to standard in the contests, they should not be so strongly criticised Judging “Excellent” The judging at the Food Fair by the chief judge (Mr A. R. Bohdan) of the Chev-ron-Hilton Hotel. Sydney, said Mr Tremain, had been excellent. His criticism had been constructive. “I think this is the type of judging that will give the boys in the N.Z. cooking industry the encouragement thev need,” said Mr Tremain Mr Tremain is manager of Warner’s Hotel, Christchurch. He is a former head chef of the hotel and a former president of the Canterbury Hotel Workers’ Union. On two occasions he was champion of champions of the cooking contests held annually in Christchurch by the Hotel Workers’ Union and the Hotel Association.

Mr Kerr’s criticisms about certain entries, said the secretary of the Canterbury Hotel Workers’ Union (Mr L Short) were “damning and unfair.”

“They were damning by a man who publicly professes to be raising the standard of food and the status of chefs in N.Z.,” said Mr Short. “The fault in the organisation of the Food Fair is that it provides only for open classes. Chefs and cooks are not graded.

“Entries put in by some cooks obviously would never be up to the standard of the professional chef.” “The wide disparity in the standards of entries, could surely be laid at Mr Kerr’s front door.” said Mr Short. “We would like to see Mr Kerr enter in the contests and let some of the Christchurch cooks be the judges.”