Shikylah Dearnley (19), Chahna Davis (20), and Navneet Narayan (20) have been selected to represent Ara Institute of Canterbury at Nestlé Toque d’Or on August 13. The next four months will see the trio train extensively under Department of Hospitality and Service Industries staff Mark Sycamore (Cookery), Adele Hingston (Patisserie) and Adrian Hilhorst (Hospitality).
“We will train hard. Approximately 100 hours between now and the competition in August. Students need to be prepared to make that time commitment on top of their studies, and other part time work,” Sycamore says.
At the event, the students will have to prepare six covers of a three-course menu within a set timeframe for a panel of sixteen judges, including Swiss Michelin-starred chef Anton Mosimann.
Chahna Davis is looking forward to the competition. “It’s going to be so exciting, the experience of competing,” said Davis. “Just being in that atmosphere… that’s going to be amazing. You have to aim for the top. You don’t want to aim for second, you know? We have to get it. We really want to win.”
