NZ Pork to Sponsor College Challenge at National Hospitality Championships in August 2019
With a new venue, new Salon Director and some new sponsors, the 2019 NZ Hospitality Championships are shaping up to be the best yet.
From well-seasoned competitors to those that are just cutting their teeth in the industry, there is a class for everyone.
“We are pleased to announce that NZ Pork has come on board to give our college students the opportunity to demonstrate their skills in the NZ Pork Mystery Box Challenge – a two person team event. Each team will be presented with a mystery box of ingredients that they will have 45 minutes to go over and design a main course meal for 4 people. At this point their tutors can help them but once the cooking starts, they will have 75 minutes to produce that menu and they will be on their own”, says Salon Director Chef Gary Miller.
Miller believes that it is important for our younger chefs and trainees to get equal opportunity to demonstrate what they can do.
NZ Pork General Manager, David Baines, says New Zealand has a real depth of home-grown talent in the hospitality industry who have been instrumental in showcasing the quality of the country’s fresh produce around the world.
“NZ Pork is extremely pleased to be this year’s sponsor of the New Zealand College Challenge- Mystery Box at the NZ Hospitality Championships and is proud to be helping the next generation of NZ chefs make their mark on the industry. We’re very excited to see the creativity and flair that these students demonstrate in the competition as they highlight the taste, quality and versatility of fresh, NZ born and raised pork”, he says.
Applications to enter the NZ Pork Challenge are now open and entry forms can be found on the NZChefs website – www.nzchefs.org.nz
-NZ Chefs
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
1. NZ CHEFS ASSOCIATION
The New Zealand Chefs Association Inc. is the National Association representing professional chefs, cooks and trainees, pâtissiers and confectioners.
2. NZ PORK
NZ Pork is the statutory industry board that works to support New Zealand’s pork producers and farmers, building a sustainable future and ensuring high standards of farming.
3. NZ HOSPITALITY CHAMPIONSHIPS
This annual event, which began in 1991, is held under the auspices of the NZ Chefs Association and is the largest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. This platform is not only where talented NZ Chefs are showcased, tested and created but also where baristas, barmen and so many others working within the wider Hospitality and Tourism Industry hone their skills.
Over 1000 entrants from around New Zealand, the Pacific and Chatham Islands are expected to compete again this year. More than 70 different classes will are offered at various levels, including Primary School (with the Kiwi Kids Can Cook Programme), Secondary School, Tertiary as well as Open Classes for Industry professionals.
A further 400 judges, volunteers, mentors and support personnel will also be in attendance over the 3 days to assist with the fun events and the premier industry competitions such as Nestle Toque d’Or, Chef of the Year and Training Establishment of the year.
Lisa was born in Auckland at the start of the 1970s, living in a small campsite community on the North Shore called Browns Bay. She spent a significant part of her life with her grandparents, often hanging out at the beaches. Lisa has many happy memories from those days at Browns Bay beach, where fish were plentiful on the point and the ocean was rich in seaweed. She played in the water for hours, going home totally “sun-kissed.” “An adorable time to grow up,” Lisa tells me.
Lisa enjoyed many sports; she was a keen tennis player and netballer, playing in the top teams for her age right up until the family moved to Wellington. Lisa was fifteen years old, which unfortunately marked the end of her sporting career. Local teams were well established in Wellington, and her attention was drawn elsewhere.