Waikato and BOP schools cook their way to success

7 July 2015: Bay of Plenty's Otumoetai College and Hamilton's Sacred Heart Girls College created fantastic dishes and displayed excellent team work to earn the final places in the National Secondary Schools Culinary Challenge (NSSCC) final next month.

NSSCC event organiser and judge, Glenn Fulcher from City & Guilds says, "The Otumoetai College team of Laura Blair and Micah Winiata really pushed the boundaries and worked well together as a team.

"Their main course suffered a little from the competition pressures, however had the bones of a great dish and with further practice they will be a team to watch at the finals."

Under the guidance of teacher Lauren May the duo served an entrée of creamy spiced beetroot and goats cheese mousse, layered with sour apple jelly, atop a seasoned beetroot soil and micro herd and golden beetroot garden. For their main dish they created a tender date and cranberry stuffed chicken roulade, accompanied with pommes boulangere, chicken crackle and fresh baby vegetables and served with a creamy au vin blanc.

Melissa Petrin and Seana Crosby from Sacred Heart Girls College - mentored by teacher Katrien Maclaurin - impressed judges with their entrée of caramelised onion and candied beetroot tart with goats cheese cream and pistachio crumb.

This was followed by a main of pistachio, ham and pesto stuffed chicken supreme wrapped in streaky bacon, served with smoked potato mash, broccolini, baby vegetables, orange beurre blanc and crispy bacon pieces.

Glenn commented that the schools did an amazing job within the allocated time. "They must have spent hours and hours training. The winning Sacred Heart Girls College team cooked a fantastic menu and worked well together."

Students were scored across a number of criteria - food preparation, hygiene, presentation, taste and the use of New Zealand grown vegetables and chicken.

Under its promotional entity, NZChicken, The Poultry Industry Association of New Zealand (PIANZ), is pleased to again be a major co-sponsor of the NSSCC this year.

PIANZ Executive Director, Michael Brooks says, “This is the third consecutive year that PIANZ has supported the NSSCC and we are pleased at how the event has grown, with more schools participating and more and more media interest.

“The standard of entries also continues to increase every year and we are most impressed with the creativity and skill shown by the young competitors. The best entries are truly restaurant-quality offerings and the event opens real career pathways into the hospitality industry. It is also an excellent opportunity for the young chefs of tomorrow to gain an understanding of the quality and versatility of New Zealand chicken.”

Massey High School, Te Awamutu College, Waikato Diocesan Schools for Girls, Huntly College and Rotorua Girls High School also competed at the Waikato/BOP regional competition. The national final will be held on Friday 28 August in Auckland.

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