Two New Zealand chefs are competing in the 55th Nestlé Golden Chef’s Hat Award for $AUD10,000 ($NZ10780) prize money to further their culinary careers.
The award partners with NZChefs and the Australian Culinary Federation, who share in the collective vision of being dedicated to the development of young chefs and the future of the industry.
Competing in this year’s final in New Zealand are chefs Sam Heaven representing the North Island, and Jamie Jackson from the South Island.
In a year like no other, Australia’s longest running culinary competition which hit New Zealand shores earlier this year, has responded with an exciting new format to ensure that culinary talent like Sam and Jamie could still put themselves to the test and elevate their careers.
“We promised to stand by our chef community, and we’ve done exactly that – taking the competition to a new level with video entry. We were determined that lockdowns and travel restrictions wouldn’t stop us going ahead and the result is that we’ve attracted an outstanding level of chef talent who put themselves to the test and showcased their best dishes on camera,” Scott Stuckmann, Business Executive Officer Nestlé Professional.
The grand finals will be held on November 10, with a virtual awards ceremony to follow on November 17. Each of the top ten finalists will compete in a commercial kitchen with two NZChefs judges or Australian Culinary Federation onsite to taste their food. At the same time, their dish creations will be live streamed to a panel of remote judges to ensure that the same criteria is applied fairly to all competitors.
The 2020 Chef of the Year will be awarded an AUD$10,000 (NZ$10780) cash prize to further their culinary career.
“We wish all of our competitors the best of luck and hope they enjoy this landmark experience that they’ve all worked so hard to be a part of,” Mark Clayton, Executive Chef Nestlé Professional.
