Farmers' call
OPINION: Fonterra's $4.22 billion consumer business sale to Lactalis is ruffling a few feathers outside the dairy industry.
The New Zealand Anchor Food Professionals’ team of chefs has taken out silver at the 2016 Culinary Olympics in Erfurt, Germany.
The team won the silver medal in the all-important Hot Kitchen section with their New Zealand-focused menu of salmon entrée, lamb loin main course, and South Pacific-inspired dessert.
This comes on top of winning two bronze medals in the cold Culinary Arts section two days earlier. Pastry chef Ganesh Khedekar created a chocolate centrepiece featuring Gollum which was a huge drawcard for the crowds.
Fonterra’s director of Global Foodservice Grant Watson, who’s with the team in Germany, congratulated the team and says the silver medal is thoroughly deserved.
“It’s been 28 years since a New Zealand last competed in the Culinary Olympics here in Germany. What they’ve accomplished is nothing short of amazing. Their hot dishes were exquisite and loved by the 110 guests and judges who were at the dinner.”
Fonterra’s global foodservice business, Anchor Food Professionals, sponsored the team to compete at the Culinary Olympics through a shared love of creating great food, using top quality ingredients.
Prior to heading to Germany, the team honed their skills and the menu at a series of regional ‘feasts’ up and down the country, while also practising for their cold table presentation.
NZChefs’ president and chef de mission to the New Zealand team, Graham Hawkes, says the team is thrilled with the result.
“The chefs have put everything into this competition. The food they served up to a sold out service really wowed the guests and the judges, and gave them a real taste of New Zealand,” Hawkes says.
The chefs who competed in the Hot Kitchen section at the Culinary Olympics are Steve Le Corre, Mark Sycamore, John Kelleher, Darren Wright, Richard Hingston and Corey Hume, aided by kitchen technician Anita Sarginson.
The first Culinary Olympics was held in 1900 in Germany, when four countries competed but has grown to more than 2000 chefs from 40 countries serving up their best for the judges.
Fonterra Global Category and Innovation manager Keith McDonald, who’s handled logistics for the team in Germany says the chefs have run on adrenalin and very little sleep since arriving there.
“Every minute has been spent driving perfection in their dishes so to take out silver against other countries’ teams that spend all year travelling from competition to competition is a fantastic achievement. These guys have definitely earned this medal,” McDonald says.
“And in 2020, we hope to be back for gold,” adds Hawkes.
The overall winner for 2016 was Singapore.
Brett Wotton, an Eastern Bay of Plenty kiwifruit grower and harvest contractor, has won the 2025 Kiwifruit Innovation Award for his work to support lifting fruit quality across the industry.
Academic Dr Mike Joy and his employer, Victoria University of Wellington have apologised for his comments suggesting that dairy industry CEOs should be hanged for contributing towards nitrate poisoning of waterways.
Environment Southland's catchment improvement funding is once again available for innovative landowners in need of a boost to get their project going.
The team meeting at the Culverden Hotel was relaxed and open, despite being in the middle of calving when stress levels are at peak levels, especially in bitterly cold and wet conditions like today.
A comment by outspoken academic Dr Mike Joy suggesting that dairy industry leaders should be hanged for nitrate contamination of drinking/groundwater has enraged farmers.
OPINION: The phasing out of copper network from communications is understandable.
OPINION: Westland Milk may have won the contract to supply butter to Costco NZ but Open Country Dairy is having…
OPINION: The Gene Technology Bill has divided the farming community with strong arguments on both the pros and cons of…