NZ WelTec student selected for Young Chef Olympiad –
Wellingtonian Michelle Burling-Claridge, a Level 5 Diploma in Hospitality Management student at Whitireia and WelTec (Te Pūkenga), has been selected to represent New Zealand at the IIHM Young Chef Olympiad 2023 on January 29.
Following two years of hosting the International Institute of Hotel Management’s Young Chef Olympiad event online, the global culinary competition is now back to being judged in person in India.
Michelle represents New Zealand in the section of Group E heat to be held in Hyderabad, with competitors from Jordan, Sweden, Namibia, Spain, USA, South Africa, Uzbekistan and Portugal.
Young chefs from over 50 countries will fly to India to compete. Competitors will be judged on several factors: ability to cook with given ingredients within a specified time, creativity of dish and taste, and utilization of pre-selected ingredients.
Michelle, 21, with her WelTec tutor, Frank Prskawetz, will be flying over to whip up a culinary storm.
“This is really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity as there is only one young chef selected from each of the 50 participating countries,” said Frank.
Michelle, who finished high school at Onslow College before completing WelTec programs in bakery, cookery and hospitality, is both nervous and excited about the challenge.
“It is just awesome news and it doesn’t yet feel quite real to me! I am so excited to go to India as I have only ever traveled to Australia before.
“It will be incredible to meet other upcoming chefs and the competition will be a good test of pressure. But of course so many things can go wrong when you are cooking so I’m a bit nervous about that! Frank, however, has trained me well and taught me great new techniques, so I feel confident,” said Michelle.
Frank Prskawetz, explains that in the initial round students will prepare a vegetarian dish made from a table of ingredients (like a magic box), and a lemon meringue tart for dessert. In the final round, they will make a classic French omelette, a prawn dish from a table of ingredients, and a tarte tart to finish.
“We have been practicing preparing dishes from pre-selected ingredients to help get Michelle used to this format. She is a very well rounded chef, having done both cookery and bakery through WelTec, so I’m sure she will do well,” says Frank.
Michelle is currently working at Hippopotamus restaurant at the QT Hotel Wellington, and hopes the Young Chef Olympiad will be a stepping stone to further work and travel overseas. “I would love to work and travel around the world, and that is what I am hoping to do next.”
Largest food price rise in 32 years –
Food prices were 11.3 percent higher in December 2022 than they were in December 2021, Stats NZ has announced.
This is the biggest annual increase since April 1990, when food prices increased by 11.4 percent.
In December 2022, the annual increase was due to rises across all the broad food categories Stats NZ measures.
Compared with December 2021:
*grocery food prices increased by 11 percent
*fruit and vegetable prices increased by 23%.
*restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food increased by 7.8 percent
*meat, poultry, and fish prices increased by 11 percent
*non-alcoholic beverage prices increased by 7.3 percent.
Grocery food was the largest contributor to this movement.
“Increasing prices for cheddar cheese, barn or cage-raised eggs, and potato chips were the largest drivers within grocery food,” consumer prices manager, James Mitchell said.
The second-largest contributor to the annual movement was fruit and vegetables. Items within this group that influenced this most were kiwifruit, potatoes, and tomatoes.
Season’s Greetings!
Merry Christmas to all our readers, the busy festive season is here and great hospitality is the dish of the day.
Here’s to a profitable, satisfying and delightful summer that also yields great joy.
Share some fun – why not name your ‘Top 10 Best and Worst’ Lists for the year – ‘Ten life & death excuses why customers were late for a booking’; ‘Ten Best Selling Entres’, or ‘Most Popular Specials and Cocktails’ etc – keep it light and fun. And don’t forget the blooper list – the disasters your team is prepared to admit!
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from the Hospitality Business team – keep safe and have a great Christmas and a Happy New Year.
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