IHHC Culinary Competition returns for 2023

Following the resounding success of the inaugural event held during last year’s IHHC National Conference, the IHHC Culinary Competition is returning for 2023, with entries scheduled to open on July 3.

Once again the competition will culminate in the finalist teams putting their skills to the test in a high-pressure cook off, to be held on Tuesday October 17 at the IHHC National Conference held in the Adelaide Hilton.

“The idea behind the competition is to publicly acknowledge and showcase the culinary skills of cooks and chefs in health and aged care, who sadly don’t often get recognition for their talent,” explains this year’s event organiser Troy Litzow.

“Not only do these professionals go the extra mile to provide patients and residents with quality food, which plays an important role in maintaining their nutritional health and wellbeing, they also typically have to work within budget constraints which are much tougher than in regular foodservice. Our competition is designed to raise the profile of these essential workers and the fact that they work day in and day out to produce the best meals possible which are not only appealing and satisfying but which also have to be nutritionally sound and cost-effective.”

These elements play a role in the competition itself, with entries required to adhere to a food cost of no more than $6.50 per finished plate and nutritional guidelines specifying a maximum of 3000kJ per dish, with less than 23g fat (maximum of 30 per cent of total kJ) and less than 750mg sodium. A nutritional analysis signed off by an accredited practising dietitian must be included with the entry.

The competition is open to anyone regularly employed within health and aged care, with teams consisting of any two of the following: chef/cook, director/manager, accredited practising dietitian (APD) and senior leader and/or staff of foodservice team.

Each team is required to choose from a list of key ingredients drawn from two market baskets: the first giving a protein choice of chicken, barramundi or lamb, and the second a choice of oranges, tomatoes, mushrooms, spelt, radish and a selection of Australian native bushfoods. “There’s clearly a trend for the utilisation of Australian native ingredients being showcased in health and aged care menus,” Troy points out, “and it’s an opportunity to connect with the longer history of our country and pay homage to the heritage of our First Nations peoples.”

Entries must be received by 5pm AEST on Monday July 31 via the Judgify electronic portal at https://www.judgify.me/2023ihhcculinary. All entries submitted will be reviewed by the Culinary Competition planning committee who will select the finalists based on originality/innovation, applicability to the healthcare foodservice environment, use of colour and texture and overall plate presentation.

Those chosen as finalists will have 30 minutes’ preparation time prior to the cook-off to undertake mise en place, then 45 minutes to prepare five portions of a recipe using the nominated market basket ingredients and other local produce. Each team will be started off at 10 minute intervals, so as to give the judges time to look at all the dishes and ensure each dish will be judged as soon as it’s plated.

Finalist teams will be scored according to a 100 point system, with up to 15 points awarded for organisation, 40 points for culinary skills, and 45 for taste and presentation. Judges will be walking around during the cook-off checking these factors and awarding points independently.

Following his hosting of the 2022 competition, we’re pleased to be able to confirm that TV personality Alistair McLeod from Ready Steady Cook and Off the Eaten Track will be returning to act as MC. “Alistair did a great job last year and he’s keen to be involved once again,” Troy reports.

The winning team will receive the perpetual competition trophy which has been named the David Terrill Trophy in honour of IHHC founder David Terrill, as this event follows in the footsteps of the competitions which he ran previously. David has been invited to present the trophy to this year’s winners at the conclusion of the competition. Both the winners and runners-up will also receive a further trophy which is theirs to keep permanently.

Entries for the 2023 IHHC Culinary Competition open July 3. To enter visit https://www.judgify.me/2023ihhcculinary