The top ten teams for Junior Chefs of Aotearoa are gearing up for an exciting competition to be held between the 14th and 16th of July. What was previously known as Junior Masterchef Rotorua, has now been expanded to the entire country, and will see ten teams of two competitors competing for amazing prizes. Competitors are aged between 9 and 15 years of age and are coming in from all over the country.
Chef, and organizer, Deep Kumar, said that this year’s 528 registrations dwarfed the 200 received last year. “All the kids are very talented,” said Kumar, “We had to make some hard decisions.” The young chefs are now being mentored and were aware of the guidelines and what is required of them.
The competition is comprised of six rounds, some of which will incorporate a mystery box, a mystery guest challenge, an exhibition at a farmer’s market, and the grand final five-course meal. Prizes for the competition include $2000 in cash, a holiday package to Rarotonga, a restaurant cooking exhibition experience, memberships to Flex Fitness, and knife sets. Additionally, Kumar said that both winners and runners-up would be involved in the creation of a cookbook. Kumar also noted that the competition aims to get young chefs encouraging each other, and other children to cook.
