The exhilarating NZ Chefs Championships and Global Chefs Challenge Pacific Rim Semifinal, hosted by NZ Chefs, was on show at Fine Food New Zealand.
The competition highlighted the best local talent from New Zealand and was competed across the three days of the expo.
Manawatu chef, Andrew May, won the NZ Chefs Championship. As head chef of Amayjen, this is not the first time May has won a national title, winning Scottish Chef of the Year for 2009/2010 whilst working in the United Kingdom. May said that it was a proud moment for him to win the competition.
"To win this award was a big deal for me, as it's been a goal for a few years. Running a restaurant takes a lot of time and hard work, so fitting into the competition was a little tricky at times, but I reorganised a few things at work and managed to focus on it. You know you have to be in the right head space, and to achieve these results, in the end, was very rewarding and made me very proud of myself," said May.
The competition asked chefs to prepare three courses, and a mystery box challenge was thrown into the mix. The challenge meant that May and his fellow chefs had to think quickly, as they had one hour to prepare a meal for four people using only kohlrabi, okra, brussels sprouts and potatoes, and a beef fillet.
For May, the highlight of the competition was being able to claim the top spot in two different countries, which is quite an accomplishment. A lot of organisation went into planning his trip to Auckland whilst ensuring that his restaurant was left in safe hands.
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