National Youth Team wins gold and bronze at 2020 Culinary Olympics

THE AUSTRALIAN CULINARY FEDERATION’S National Youth Team will be bringing home both gold and bronze medals from this year’s IKA Culinary Olympics, held in Stuttgart, Germany in February.

The team consists of five males and two females, all of whom are under 25 with the youngest 18. Two are from NSW and five from Perth and for all it was their first time at the Culinary Olympics.

These latest wins come hot on the heels of the team’s winning two gold and three silver medals at the Asian Championships held in China last November.

The National Youth Team competed over five days in two categories – winning a gold medal in the Restaurant of Nations, for which they had to prepare a three course menu for 60 people; and a bronze medal in the IKA Buffet where they had to cook for 12.

The Western Australian Catering Company, who accompanied the team in a support role, also won a bronze medal in the Community Catering category.

The last time Australia won a gold medal in the Culinary Olympics was back in 2012. The team has been in training for the past three and a half years, which is a big commitment for its members, as Team Manager Patrick O’Brien points out: “we started out with a squad of 18, but as you go along life takes its turns and inevitably some people drop out or move on. The seven young people we have are extremely dedicated to what they’re doing and are an absolute pleasure to work with.”

The National Youth Team, consisting of Billy Fox and Matt Wills from NSW/ACT and Tori Pickens, Nattawatt Thiengee, Maverick Cuthbert, Harrison Joyce and Abbey Formentin from WA, flew out on February 9 to meet up with support team Peter Tischhauser, Che-Tam Nguyen, Chad Tilbury, Matt McBain and Patrick O’Brien and ACF President Karen Doyle in Singapore, from where they flew on to London and then Stuttgart where Michael Strautmanis acted as Chargé d’Affaires during their stay.

Two indigenous hospitality students were chosen to accompany the team on their trip: Shaleeka Ozies, a Nyikina Djugun woman from Derby, WA and Rishaye Shaw, a Wunambal Gaambera woman from Fitzroy Crossing in the Kimberley region. This is the first time in the history of the 100-year-old event that young Aboriginal people have been invited to travel with the team and support them during the competitions.

Shaleeka and Rishaye were given the opportunity through Prepare Produce Provide’s ‘Kinjarling Djinda Ngardak’ (KDN) program, a week-long culinary camp for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students which enables them to receive training and mentorship from some of the State’s best chefs. They were chaperoned by former National Team Member Adrian Tobin and Noongar woman Dee Hedland.

“Our team has been training collectively as well as individually and even electronically and it all came together when it came down to the line,” says Team Manager Patrick O’Brien.

“It’s important to understand that our team works with a lot less resources than some of those from other countries. The vast majority of the top 10 countries competing in the Culinary Olympics operate with very sizable budgets and resources which Australia simply can’t match. Our team members work 60-70 hours a week in their individual jobs and have to come together to train in their spare time – and they’re using every bit of their spare time to develop dishes, work together and cook at functions to raise funds. To achieve the result we have is an awesome achievement.

“The journey for gold would not have been possible without the support of sponsors Moffat, Nestlé Professional, Robot Coupe, Bidfood, Krio Krush, Fraser & Hughes, Serco, North Metropolitan TAFE, Select Fresh, Huon Salmon, WAGOGA, Classic Meats, Western Australia Government, Rieber, Wing Hong Food Services, Better Taste and Elite Hospitality Personnel. We sincerely thank them all as they have helped make the dreams of these young chefs a reality. Without our sponsors we’d literally have had no chance.”