Pastry Chefs are preparing to descend on Auckland, as the Pastry Chef of the Year competition kicks off at Fine Food New Zealand.
The upcoming Pastry Chef of the Year competition at Fine Food New Zealand will showcase the best of local culinary talent and craftsmanship. The high level of registered competitors has meant the competition will now be spread across two days.
Elsie Butler, owner and operator of Beverly Patisserie in Hamilton, will compete in this year’s competition. She trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Wellington, and in 2024, attended the prestigious Ecole Ducasse culinary school in Lyon, France.
Sisi Li (Cino), founder of Cino Cake Design in Auckland, will also take part. She completed a diploma in Art and Design in China and is currently studying towards a Master’s degree in Applied Management. She has studied with Ben Goh, Captain of the Singapore National Dessert Team, and developed her craft at Lenotre Paris Culinary Institute and at Hangar 78 Culinary Institute in Italy.
Achira Kularatine is the Pastry Chef at Fairlie Bakehouse, and will travel from South Canterbury to compete this year. He has a diploma in Sugar Flower Wedding Cake Structure, and gained a gold medal in pastry art at the Luxembourg Culinary World Cup in 2018. He won Best Pastry Chef of the Year at Emirates Salon Culinaire 2017 in Dubai, and was awarded a bronze medal at New Zealand Pastry Chef of the Year 2024.
Many pastry chefs competing at this year’s championships have worked within the hotel space.
Mohamed Noufal is a Demi Pastry Chef at SkyCity Entertainment Group. He has a diploma in Hotel Management, and has worked at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Bangalore and the Movenpick Hotel and Resort Jumeriah Lake Towers in Dubai. Noufal won silver at New Zealand Pastry Chef of the Year in 2023.
Bishal Dhakal is Senior Chef de Pastry at SkyCity. He gained a Diploma in Tourism from AUT, as well as Cookery level 4 with service IQ. Dhakal works at Cassia with acclaimed local chef Sid Sarawat, and has previously worked at Salon de Katmandu.
Jenny Aquino-Dickeson is a Pastry Chef and junior sous Chef at Sky City. She has a Post Graduate Diploma in Applied Business, and a Bachelor of Science in International Hospitality Management. She has worked at the Marriott and Sear in Atlanta, and worked for Chefs Josh Emett and Ben Bayley in seasonal menu creation.
Merlysha Pereira has worked as a full-time pastry chef at Jetpark hotels since 2023. Her specialist skills include bread making and cake decorating. Pereira’s previous roles have included working for Marriott Marquis and Ocean View Hotels in Dubai, and as Pastry Chef at Sharjah International Airport in Dubai as well.
Suraj Kolarveettil is currently the Chef de Parti at Takina, Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre. Kolarveettil studied at the Holy Cross Institute of Management and Technology in India and worked at The Sheraton Grand in Bangalore. He has also worked at the Ossiano Dubai, a one-Michelin-Star establishment, and Five Palm Jumeirah Dubai.
Lovely Gonzaga, Pastry Chef at Mangapapa Hotel in Hawke’s Bay, will also compete. Gonzaga studied at North Shore International Academy, and worked as a Chef at Edmund Hillary Retirement Village, as well as a Baker at New World in Hastings.
Chefs have many opportunities open to them, from the growing aged care market, and Michelin Star chefs have worked in retirement villages, to supermarkets with in-house bakeries, and butchers' shops, which have become very popular and offer great experiences to chefs.
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