Hospitality students fire up in the kitchen

Author: Robert Landreth - Southland Express
Date posted: 18/06/09

Southland's hospitality and culinary skills will be put to the test this weekend in the Southern Light Salon Culinaire, hosted by the Southern Institute of Technology's School of Hospitality.

In its twelfth year, the competition will not only see experienced restaurateurs and trainee chefs go head to head, but also allows budding chefs from schools and the public to take part.

SIT chef tutor Tony Goodall said chefs and waiters from Otago and the West Coast were travelling to Invercargill for the event and the school had been inundated with entries.

The public were free to watch the competion, which would be held at SIT's Bungalow Training Restaurant and in Hansen Hall, both on Ythan Street. Competition starts on Saturday at 9am and on Sunday at 8am.

Mr Goodall said it would be a busy weekend with two kitchens operating at the restaurant on both days of the competition.

Included in the competition's 29 categories will be static displays of wedding cakes, fruit flans, cold deserts and high teas. The region's baristas will also show off their coffee making skills.

On Saturday front of house competitiors will display their skills in table setting, beverage service and cocktail making, while secondary school students will compete in the New Zealand Junior Hospitality Challenge and on Sunday, junior and open class chefs would feel the heat of the kitchen in live cooking events.

Mr Goodall said the culinaire was a good opportunity for chefs to display their skill and experience, and for students to impress prospective employers. It was also a good opportunity for those in the industry to pick up new dishes or to see what new trends had emerged, he said.