Two young New Zealand chefs, Emily Morgan and Anshul Gurung, won medals and awards at the prestigious Nestlé Golden Chef’s Hat awards competition, held in Melbourne this week as part of the Fine Food Show.
Emily and Anshul, aged 18 and 24 respectively, impressed the judges with the cooking and serving of their three-course menu, winning numerous medals: Emily won one gold medal and two silver medals, as well as the award for Most Creative Use of Nestle Products, while Anshul won three silver medals, the award for Best Savory, and a $2,500 tuition package.
This is the first time both have competed in the grand final – Emily won the competition’s North Island regional qualifying round earlier this year – and the AUT student chef took part in the Trans-Tasman event because she likes to challenge herself and seize every opportunity while training to be a chef.
Anshul, who is representing the South Island at the event, is no stranger to cooking competitions having previously competed in the Golden Chef regional finals. He said he decided to take part in the competition again as he had learnt a lot from his previous experience and wanted to improve himself by competing.
Top young chefs from across Australia
The two contestants competed against nine other top young chefs from across Australia to win the championship. Golden Chef of the YearThey developed and perfected a three-course menu for the live cooking competition.
Emily’s menu included a main course of charred tuile carrots and honey-wrapped tofu, followed by roasted biff rubbed with buondi coffee beans, saffron potato gratin, smoked mushroom and leek cannelloni, and a dessert of dark chocolate crème, raspberry gel and dark chocolate soil.
Anshul’s menu consisted of an entrée of creamy pea mousse, citrus jelly, smoked ricotta and chilli macadamia. The main course was Rostbiff with silverbeet, butternut and potato terrine, charred onion puree and spiced butternut sauce. Finally, for dessert, a French vanilla and raspberry entremet with white chocolate and coconut crumble, macerati berries and dark chocolate was created.
Expert Jury
The young chefs Australian Culinary Federation, NZ Chef and Nestle Professional The experts were assessed on their professional practice, presentation and most importantly, taste elements, using globally recognised standards.
NZChefs judge Geoff Scott “Participating in the Golden Chef’s Hat Competition gives the next generation of chefs the opportunity to test themselves, make connections and learn from each other,” he said.
“Emily and Anshul delivered outstanding dishes on the day under a lot of pressure. To have made it this far and won a medal and award is a huge achievement that they both take great pride in.”
The overall winner of the event was Archer Houghton, who won a trip to World Chefs Congress 2024 in Singapore worth $10,000 and a work experience.
For nearly 60 years, Nestlé Golden Chef has proudly supported over 7,500 chefs across Australia and New Zealand to advance their culinary careers.
