Sam Gradowski-Smith showcased his impressive culinary skills in order to be named New Zealand Chef of the Year.
A successful NZ Chefs Championships at Fine Foods New Zealand 2025 saw local talent at its finest, as chefs from across the country showcased their best culinary skills.
NZ Chef of the Year was won by Sam Gradowski-Smith, who had previously won the Emerging Chef of the Year. Gradowski-Smith said that gaining experience by working in modern kitchen environments was a primary career objective, and experiences like these allowed him to join the brigade of young talent in the industry.
Chef Achira Kular Kularatine, who travelled from South Canterbury, was named NZ Pastry Chef of the Year. With a diploma in Sugar Flower Wedding Cake Structure, Kularatine had previously won a gold medal in pastry art at the Luxembourg Culinary World Cup in 2018, and 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.
New Zealand Defence Force chef Blake Cranch was named NZ Emerging Chef of the year. Shannon Fryer, NZ Chefs Association President, said it was great to see the Defence Force have a strong presence at all four days of the championships.
Rick Stephen, Global Vice President of the World Chefs Association, was also in Auckland for this year’s championships. Stephen said that competitions were incredibly important for a chef’s personal growth.
“When I used to compete in the competition, we used to train and practice, and then you try and develop techniques or different dishes that you probably would not do in a normal circumstance. So I used to always think that I'd virtually gain four years of training just from that one competition,” he said.
Stephen considered hygiene, food waste and sustainability as the most important elements for competing chefs to have during competitions. He said that if chefs are cooking for four, then cook for four, don’t cook for six or eight. Judges will be on the lookout for how many products chefs use and how much of that ends up on the plate, as well as their techniques.
“We want to ensure that it’s a cooking competition, so we want to see techniques. We don’t want to see chefs using all these moulds and things like that. Use one or two, but we want to see chefs using some hand-to-hand techniques and utilisation of all the products.”
He added that the most crucial element to consider in a competition was the time frame.
“If you’re given two hours to do it, then make sure you finish in two hours.”
Competitions like the NZ Chef Championships are essential for young and emerging chefs in Stephen’s opinion. He said competitions are designed to test chefs' abilities. Mistakes are welcome, as competitors are able to learn from those mistakes and elevate their future dishes. He reiterated the importance of not giving up, learning and gaining feedback. He added that it was better for young chefs to have constructive feedback so they can learn and go on to the next step.
According to Stephen, every chef should consider entering competitions, as it isn’t competing against others; it’s competing against themselves. Every chef starts with 100 marks and will lose points for making mistakes or doing something wrong. He said that practice makes perfect, and chefs will become attuned to proper procedures, but a chef always has to have the passion to succeed.
“I always say cook from the heart. Cook what you feel is great, just make it look good on the plate.”
Fryer said planning is underway for the next NZ Chefs Hospitality Championships, which will be held at MIT in October 2026. He said the aim is to have the Culinary Arts component as a Worldchefs-endorsed competition. This will assist those who have attended a Worldchefs Judges workshop in 2023 or 2025 in moving up the pathway to become official Worldchefs Certified Judges. Ideally, an International Pastry Judge will also be included to present a masterclass and specialist workshop on leading trends in Patisserie.
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