N.Z. chefs to compete in Aust.

Press, 5 August 1985, Page 2

N.Z. chefs to compete in Aust.

Ten South Island trainee chefs will compete in the Australian national salon culinaire competitions in Melbourne this week. The trainee chefs, who have been attending courses in the catering section of the Christchurch Polytechnic’s department of food and fashion for the last two to three years, will fly to Melbourne today.

It is the first time a New Zealand team has competed in the Australian national salon culinaire competitions. The team was selected at the South Island competitions in Christchurch in June.

The Polytechnic entrants are two teams of four chefs, and two reserves.

As well as entering static displays in the salon culinaire, the team will compete for an intercollege cooking trophy against two Melbourne hotel catering colleges. A Christchurch Polytechnic catering tutor, Mr Terry Pryor, has helped to organise the intercollege trophy, which will be contested for the first time.

“Since we are taking the trophy over, naturally we hope to bring it back again,” said Mr Pryor. Each team will have three hours in which to prepare five varieties of hors d’oeuvres, a main meal, and a dessert, for the trophy. An edible swan made from choux pastry filled with creme de menthe accompanied by cygnets on a nest of spun sugar, and an almond paste wishing-well filled with vanilla bavorois (egg custard) will be pre-

sented as the team’s dessert entries.

The main course will be Carre D’Agneau printaniere (a lamb dish garnished with spring vegetables). Mr Pryor is confident that the team will do well in spite of its being the first time New Zealand has competed' in the Australian competitions. New Zealanders were “not the poor relation” in culinary skills, even though catering schools were available to Australians a few years earlier than in New Zealand, said Mr Pryor.

“New Zealanders have been able to attend catering schools only for about the last 10 to 12 years,” he said.

In New Zealand, apprentice chefs attended courses and then went overseas to acquire those “extra skills” that Australians could learn from the many Europeans who had migrated to Australia, said Mr Pryor. After completing the practical section of the trophy competition, the team will compete in the static display section of the salon culinaire. Each student must enter two static displays without a limit on preparation time, said Mr Pryor. Seven of the chefs are from Christchurch, two from Mount Cook, and one from the West Coast. They will be in Australia about two weeks.

Soon after returning to New Zealand, the chefs will take part in the three-day national salon culinaire competition in Wellington, starting on August 29.