NZMA had 70 students compete at the New Zealand Hospitality Championships in association with NZChefs over the weekend. Of these, 50 were international students representing Korea, Vietnam, China, Philippines, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan and South Africa. The NZMA team were thrilled to win 6 Gold, 46 Silver and 24 Bronze medals, plus seven Class Winners, the Training Service Person of the Year and WorldSkills Challenge.
As an example of our International students and Auckland residents, EunBi (Eunice) Ko, and Youngchang Chai won medals in their specialist categories.
- In the high pressured environment of cocktail creations Eunice won a Silver medal in the Innovative cocktail, and a Bronze medal in Classic Cocktail creation.
- Youngchang Chai won a Gold Medal in the cooking category Venison. With all eyes on him, he excelled and delivered a dish worthy of a fine dining restaurant.
The NZ Hospitality Championships are held annually to showcase the talent of New Zealand’s hospitality industry. It is run in association with NZ Chefs who are the “National Association” supporting and representing Chefs across New Zealand from school age to mature practitioners. There has been an increase in competitor numbers of 50% over last year.
Over 800 aspiring chefs, baristas, cocktail creators and table setting specialists gathered to compete in the country’s largest hospitality competition.
Students were tested in separate competitions for their specialty which included: Innovative cocktail; Mystery Box Cocktail; Barista; Table setting; Fruit Flan Static; Cold desserts static; Cold entrée static; Live knife skills; Live dessert; Live Pasta & Mushroom; Live Salmon; Live Soup; Live Venison; Live Café Breakfast; Training chef of the Year.
