High placing in trans-Tasman cook-off
An AUT culinary arts student has done well in a trans-Tasman live cook-off competition for apprentice and young chefs.
Emily Morgan was runner-up at the Nestlé Golden Chef’s Hat Award competition held in Melbourne recently against 10 other regional winners from across Australia and New Zealand.
Her three-course menu won one gold and two silver medals, as well as the Most Creative Use of a Nestlé Product Award for the dessert.
“It was a super full-on and very intense couple of days, but by the end it was really fun,” she says.
“I learnt a lot about competitions and what they are really like.”
Emily says she met a lot of people, making new connections and friendships – not just by competing but during the whole experience, which included dinners hosted by different Australian chefs, including a canapé party on the first night with an Australian organisation called Rare Medium that was attended by a lot of well-known people.
“Being recognised across the media as well was a big thing. We were advertised across different sponsors’ pages on Instagram and a lot of articles were written. So there are quite a few things about me and the other Kiwi competitor on the web now - which is great exposure.”
Emily’s entrée was charred, pickled and tuile carrot with a honey whipped tofu, followed by a mains of rost biff with Buondi coffee bean rub, saffron potato gratin, smoked mushroom and leek cannelloni.
Her gold-medal winning dessert was a dark chocolat cremeux, raspberry gel and dark chocolate soil.
To get a gold-medal in the competition a dish had to receive a score of 90 or more on average across the judges.
Emily is on track to graduate from AUT with a Diploma of Culinary Arts in mid 2025.