SIT - Te Pūkenga Cookery student Yari Mowatt had success in her first culinary competition recently, achieving a bronze medal in a close contest against more experienced competitors.
Held at Ara - Te Pūkenga campus in Christchurch in July, Yari competed in the South Island Regional Cook-off of the Nestlé Golden Chef's Hat Award, which has operated for 58 years in Australia and since 2020 in New Zealand. The culinary award exists to support young chefs in making industry connections, advancing skills and progressing their careers. The top scoring young chef in each region goes onto the national final held in Sydney on September 12-13, 2023.
Contestants had two-and-a-half hours to prepare a main and dessert. “It was hard to work with the (seasonal) winter ingredients,” Yari said. She prepared a seared pork loin with kumara mash, a silver beet reduction, creamy mushrooms, and roasted cherry tomatoes. Dessert was an espresso pannacotta with walnut praline, strawberry salsa and a vanilla and cinnamon foam. “I put the foam on top of the dessert like a coffee,’’ Yari added.
It was Yari’s first culinary competition, so naturally she was nervous, but there was a friendly rapport amongst the young chefs. “The other girls already had two years’ experience ... [they] were amazing, I didn’t feel like I was competing against them ... it was great to support each other,” Yari said.
Medals in the competition weren’t awarded in the traditional first - gold, second – silver and third - bronze; The points each chef gained determined which medal they achieved. It was a tight competition between the three contestants who were all awarded bronze medals by scoring between 70-80 points each. Joosje Bouman, (aged 22) Ara Institute of Canterbury trained, won on the day. AUT student, Lilly Boles, (aged 19), won the North Island final. Both chefs will be travelling to Sydney for the September final to compete against the ten Australian regional finalists.
Yari said it was really great to have a sit-down with the judges after competing; they gave them feedback and advice on how to improve. “I was happy with their comments ... I lost points on silly things; my uniform sleeves were too long, how I handled the food. I didn’t expect that, it made me realise how serious the competition was.”
The highly experienced judging team in Christchurch were Alliance Brand Ambassador Chef Darren Wright, and Ara Cookery Tutors Mark Sycamore and Steve Le Corre. All three chefs appeared at the annual Famous Young Chefs Luncheon at SIT in April; Yari was mentored by Darren Wright on that occasion. “It was really nice meeting them again,” she said.
Yari, who came from Panama to SIT to study Cookery in July last year on a Panamanian Government scholarship, is halfway through completing a Diploma in Culinary Excellence (Level 5) “It’s amazing, I’ve learnt so much and have grown a lot in the past year,” said Yari.
As well as learning her culinary craft at SIT, Yari works as an à la carte and functions Chef at Ascot Park Hotel in Invercargill. She’s really happy with her decision to complete her studies in New Zealand and the win of the bronze medal has bolstered her confidence. “I’ll definitely go back and compete again,” she added.
“I’m going to enter again ... next year. You can enter until (age) 25 ... I’ll start working on preparing; next time I’ll try to win.”
Meanwhile, Yari’s achieving her goals. “I came overseas to extend myself and increase my training,” and she’s persevered to get to this stage. Meant to study at SIT in 2020, Yari’s trip was delayed two additional years because of the pandemic. “It’s been worth the wait. I believe everything happens for a reason. It was the right time for me to come,” she says philosophically. For now, Yari is quite settled in the south. “I really like being a function chef and working for ILT. I’m hoping to stay in New Zealand ... I call it my second home. I want to have my professional career here.”