Chefs around the country are preparing fro the annual Ora King Awards return for 2016 to be in to take out one of five coveted titles.
This year, once again, there are New Zealand and international citations for both Best Ora King Ambassador and Best Ora King Dish. However, due to increased international interest, the organisers have decided to introduce a split between the Best Ora King Dish Australia and Best Ora King Dish USA.
The full list of awards are:
Best Ora King Ambassador New Zealand
Best Ora King Ambassador International
Best Ora King Dish New Zealand
Best Ora King Dish Australia
Best Ora King Dish USA
The awards recognise outstanding contributions from chefs working with ora King, New Zealand King Salmon's premium foodservice brand produces exclusively for fine dining restaurants in New Zealand and overseas.
New Zealand King Salmon GM Marketing Jemma McCowan said Ora King is delighted to be able to expand the awards this year.
"In just four years we have seen the awards grow tremendously in popularity to become one of the favourites on the professional chef's annual calendar," said McCowan. "This is reflected in the expansion into country-specific awards for Australia and the USA."
Chefs enjoy the challenge of creating innovative Ora King dishes.
In 2015, Kiwi ex-pat Matt Lambert from New York's The Musket Room picked up the Best Ambassador International Award for Ora King salmon for the third year running. Elijah Holland, former head chef from The Powder Keg in Sydney took the award for the Best Ora King Dish International.
New Zealand winners last year were Nick Honeyman for Best Ora King Ambassador New Zealand, while Thomas Barta from Harbourside Ocean Bar Grill was awarded Best Ora King Dish New Zealand.
Entries are open until 31 July. Judging commences on 1 August. Chefs are required to complete a simple online entry form which captures information about the dish, such as the inspiration behind it and techniques used, and supplying an accompanying image. The information provided by the chef at this stage is used for initial judging to determine the semi-finalists.
Anna King Shahab and Geoff Scott are tasked with judging these semi-finalist dishes on set criteria that include, dish composition, taste, execution and technique and the x-factor.
Entries for the 2016 Ōra King Awards can be made via the Ōra King website here.
