Culinary team continues to harvest awards

Media release from Blanket Bay
20 July 2009

Blanket Bay culinary team continues to harvest awards

Blanket Bay’s all-star culinary team has struck gold again with multiple award wins in two prestigious New Zealand competitions.

Two young chefs from New Zealand’s leading luxury resort near Queenstown have achieved outstanding results at both the Southern Lights Salon Culinaire (held in Invercargill, from 20 to 21 June) and the South Island Salon Culinaire (held in Christchurch from 30 June to 1 July).

It was 19 year old Daniel Reynolds’ first time entering the competitions and the Blanket Bay Commis Chef picked up where his predecessor Joseph Clarke left off, beating out strong opposition to win Commis Chef of the Year in both competitions.

The former Commis Chef of the Year Joseph Clarke, Blanket Bay’s multi award-winning demi chef de partie, progressed to the Open Chef of the Year category in both competitions this year, titles previously held by Blanket Bay’s Executive Chef Mark Sycamore. Joseph won both on his first attempt, taking the title from New Zealand culinary team member Darren Wright who has held it for the past two years. Twenty-one year old Joseph recently won the right to represent New Zealand at the World Junior Chefs Challenge in 2010 and is using every competition as an opportunity to hone his culinary skills.

Daniel and Joseph’s successes add to Blanket Bay’s strong track record, particularly in the Southern Lights Salon Culinaire - Blanket Bay chefs have won Commis Chef for last three years and Open Chef for four of the past five years.

Blanket Bay General Manager Philip Jenkins is delighted with his young chefs and says they are an invaluable asset to Blanket Bay.

“We have some of the most talented chefs in the country and it’s very important to foster that talent,” he says. “Our strong philosophy of mentoring and encouraging our chefs to further their careers through competitions has certainly paid off both for the culinary team, who enjoy the supportive and creative environment, and for Blanket Bay.

“We’re naturally very keen to see a progression of our chefs through the training and award processes It’s rewarding to see our young chefs proving they’re more than capable of following in the footsteps of those who came before them.

“Our kitchen team puts every effort into making each meal special for our guests and ensuring they have a world-class dining experience they will always remember.”

The Blanket Bay restaurant is not open to the public so those keen to experience the world famous cuisine, service and mystique of the elite luxury hideaway need to register as guests. They can now take advantage of two special packages Blanket Bay is offering to celebrate its 10th anniversary.

From July 6 until October 15, a locals’ package offers accommodation, pre-dinner cocktails, a-la-carte dinner, breakfast and carte blanche use of sports equipment and facilities for a special all-inclusive rate of $350 plus GST per person per night.

A national Ultimate Escape holiday package is also available through Air New Zealand from Auckland, Napier, Kerikeri and Christchurch. The $1579 per person package includes flights and two nights’ accommodation based on two people sharing a room.

All guests at the Lodge are treated with special personal attention, enjoy access to the house bar, games room and wine cave, gym, therapy suite and spa.

Blanket Bay is situated amongst the spectacular scenery of Glenorchy, on the banks of Lake Wakatipu, and surrounded by snow-capped mountains, turquoise glacier-fed lakes, and ancient forests.

ENDS

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