National Secondary Schools Culinary Challenge final

By Sam Gavin | Posted: Wednesday September 14, 2022

Last Tuesday, September 6th, Max Napier, Ms Moore and myself travelled to Auckland to represent OBHS at the National Secondary Schools Culinary Challenge final after winning the Otago/Southland/Westcoast regional event in July.

On the day, eight teams of two lined up in the pressure cooker environment of the MIT training kitchen under the watchful eye of about six judges. If you’ve ever watched Master Chef, this was it on steroids!

We had 90 minutes to cook and plate four entrees and four mains. It was intense. Max and I were tracking really well, but the pressure got to us, and we made some silly mistakes and ended up going over time. This cost us an eight point penalty which took us out of contention for the win. We did however receive a bronze medal and were highly praised by the judges. It was disappointing, but we have learnt so much from this amazing experience.

The next day, all the teams were treated to a day of culinary immersion as we travelled around Auckland taking in a sumptuous breakfast, hangi lunch, master chef demonstrations and kitchens in leading restaurants and hotels. It was really eye opening, the size of the dishwasher at the Auckland Cordis Hotel has to seen to be believed. I would like the size to that to the School House van. It was huge! I wish we had that when we had to clean up after the competition. 

After this, it was back to the airport with all our gear, also an unbelievably huge amount. It was a very busy three day visit up to the big smoke and one we will always remember. It was a huge undertaking, and we have to give a special thankyou to Ms Moore for all her support and guidance, her organisation and the extra training for the event. 

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