26 September 2014
Media release
Sancta Maria College chefs take out national title
Four Sancta Maria College budding chefs are tasting sweet success after taking out the national title of the MAGGI
Kitchen Showdown, an intermediate schools cooking competition, and winning $5,000 for their school.
As the Upper North Island finalists, Sancta Maria College’s ‘SMC Sizzling Chicks’ competed against Palmerston North
Intermediate’s ‘The Spice Chicks’ (Lower North Island finalists) and Barton Rural School’s ‘Country Cooks’ (South Island
finalists).
Supported by their teacher Debbie McCreath, teammates Samantha McNamee, Sarah Wallen, Zoe Kerr and Kate Lemon proved to
be a recipe for success, working hard together and impressing the judges with their imaginative approach to their Nutty
Stir Fry Chicken meal.
Hockey star and Black Sticks player Rose Keddell, along with The 4.30 Show host Mike Lee and Nestle Culinary Innovations
Manager Richard Brogan, had the toughest jobs of all trying to decide a winner.
“All three teams did an incredible job and made judging very difficult for us! They all really enjoyed themselves on the
set and kept relatively cool under pressure with the cameras and lights everywhere – something I know is very hard to do
having been on MasterChef myself,” says Mike Lee.
“We saw a huge improvement from each team from the regional finals to the national finals, particularly their confidence
in the kitchen, which is always wonderful to see and really what this cooking competition is all about,” adds Mike.
In the lead up to the national final, the three teams also had a ‘Cook Off’ at the Christchurch Ronald McDonald House,
where they were able to put their cooking skills to the test and create a healthy, delicious home cooked meal and offer
some cooking respite for the families after a long day at the hospital.
In its fifth year, the MAGGI Kitchen Showdown is a cooking competition for intermediate schools that gets Kiwi kids into
the kitchen and creating fun, simple, and healthy meals, for the whole family to enjoy.
ENDS