Mashed, roasted, au Gratin, casserole, made into soups, pizza bases and taco shells, you name it and the humble cauliflower has co-operated!

And this year it is the key ingredient in the National Secondary Schools’ Culinary Challenge.

Entries open on June 1, and close June 30 at the end of Term 2, for high school students to prepare and perfect the most delicious cauliflower entre dishes they can.

The National Secondary Schools Culinary Challenge is an annual event run by the Culinary Arts Development Trust. The competition is designed to encourage the next generation of culinary talent, provide career pathways for students, and to foster relationships between secondary schools and the hospitality sector.

The competition consists of two parts. Part one is a Regional Competition with judging held online. Part two sees the winners of each region travel to Auckland to compete in the National Final on September 6 at the Manukau Institute of Technology.

Each of the eight regional competition’s winning teams will participate in a live cook-off and experience the New Zealand Culinary Journey the following day. With a total prize package valued at over $11,000, the competition is highly competitive .