Even post-COVID, culinary competitions are still a high point on the foodservice calendar

Culinary competitions are always an important part of the foodservice calendar but this year COVID-19 has put somewhat of a dampener on proceedings. However, while several events have had to be put on hold until next year, the ‘big guns’ of the competition world – like the Nestlé Golden Chefs Hat Awards – have forged ahead, albeit with adaptations to their usual format to allow them to continue in the light of travel restrictions and social distancing.

“Pivot is the buzzword of the moment and I think we must have pivoted 40 times between the end of January and when entries opened,” says Deb Foreman of the Australian Culinary Federation, event partner for the Nestlé Golden Chefs Hat Award. “In moving to an online judging model, we needed to amend the usual scoring process and we also realised that because we were asking entrants to submit videos of themselves cooking, we would need to judge the production of the video as well.”

Deb says she was gobsmacked by the quality of the video entries received: “I was expecting to see a chef in uniform standing in front of a camera saying ‘this is my dish’ but the entrants were so creative in how they presented themselves – they used time lapses, fast-speed photography, some great editing techniques and dissolves. The younger chefs these days are so technologically advanced that it’s second nature to them to do a video, so I doubt there were many who didn’t enter because they were worried about not being able to do it properly.”

The judges also had to adapt to judging the quality of the dishes being prepared without being able to taste them. “It meant we had to think differently about how and why we’re judging and be comfortable about the fact that if we’re not able to taste the food, we need all the other information to hand – the techniques, the processes, the textures. It was up to each competitor to hero their dish and be very clear and concise in what they’re saying to the judges so they understand it. They needed to thoroughly describe the dish, how they approached it and exactly what techniques they used.”

Thanks to the success of the new video application model, Deb says, “we’re already looking at how we can enhance this approach further to showcase different aspects, if and when we have to go down this path again. We were very happy with the number of entries we received.”

Planning is now underway for the finals, scheduled for 10 November with a virtual awards ceremony to follow on 17 November. You can read more about the video entries and see examples in our separate article on Nestlé Golden Chef’s Hat 2020.

Thinking of entering? Bite the bullet!

Another major event on the foodservice calendar is Chef of the Year, which has been running for more than a decade and is always held at the Foodservice Australia tradeshow. “It’s like a battle of the chefs, and attracts a really diverse range of contestants from all over the country,” explains Event Director Peter Wright, who took over following the untimely death of longtime director Gary Farrell from a heart attack in June. “We have heats for the first two days and the winner of each then goes to a semi-final, and the winners of that go into the grand final. It’s set up right in the middle of the convention centre and there’s seating so people can watch, and it always generates a lot of interest.”

At this stage this year’s event is still scheduled to go ahead at Foodservice Australia in Sydney in November. “There’s $10,000 worth of prizes and any qualified chef can enter,” Peter says. “It’s a high calibre event – Neil Abrahams, the former President of the ACF, won it two years running – but it doesn’t matter whether you come from fine dining, a club or aged care, it’s the effort you put into your entry that will get you into the heat. We want to know a bit about your background – a snapshot of who you are, what you’ve done and what you want to get out of the competition.”

Peter adds the organisers see this year’s event as a tribute to longtime Event Director Gary Farrell. “Gary and I worked together and we were mates, we were on the Culinary Olympic team together, so it’s a sad time, but it’s also a time to support the event and celebrate Gary’s enthusiasm for the industry and all the hard work he did. We’ve renamed the trophy the Gary Farrell Trophy in his memory, which is the least we can do under the circumstances.”

Peter encourages anyone thinking of entering the event to bite the bullet: “Participating in culinary competitions is always worthwhile – not everyone can work in fine dining and be trained by Marco Pierre White or Scott Pickett, but all chefs have egos and we all want to know where we stand within the community of our peers. This is a live battle of wits to test how good you are on your feet – there’s no pre-prep, you can’t bring anything with you, it’s all mystery box and everyone’s using the same ingredients so it comes down to how good you are on the day.

“The judging panel is awesome – John McFadden is our chairman of judges and he’s been an inspirational supporter. The judging criteria is modern, it’s inclusive, it takes into consideration the fact that it’s a live event and the ingredients you’re using. Australian Pork is our main sponsor this year and obviously the key ingredients are provided by the sponsors, so if you’re thinking of entering go to our website and check out who our sponsors are.” For more details visit www.foodserviceaustralia.com.au/chef-of-the-year-entry-form

Staying engaged and inspired

Proud to Be a Chef is a longstanding program which includes a cook-off component. Each year it selects 32 of Australia’s most talented apprentice chefs to participate in an all expenses paid four day mentoring program. At the conclusion the standout finalist receives a culinary scholarship value at $7,500 and tailored to their personal interests and professional goals. Entries for the 2021 program opened on September 1, and you can enter online at www.proudtobeachef.com.

“As always our focus is on identifying and developing the raw talent of our finalists and providing them with the best mentoring experience possible – including skills and insights to help sustain them throughout their professional life,” says Kym Gill, Marketing Manager of Anchor Food Professionals which presents the program. “The overarching aim is to provide support in ensuring they stay engaged and inspired about their career choice.”

Proud to Be a Chef is famous for its industry mentors, which this year include Josh Cochrane, Executive Pastry Chef at RACV City Club in Melbourne; Jo Barrett, Co-Executive Chef at Oakridge Wines, and resident mentor Mark Normoyle of Anchor Food Professionals. You can read more about this year’s mentors in our separate article on Proud to Be a Chef 2020.