HLC is Producing Award Winning Chefs
The 2018 NZ Chefs Association Wellington Culinary Fare Competition proved to be the perfect platform for students from HLC Levin to showcase their skills.
Held at the WelTec School of Hospitality and Le Cordon Bleu on Sunday 20th May, the competition attracted competitors from all over the Wellington region. The NZ Chefs Association (NZCA) event was judged by some of New Zealand’s most prestigious chefs; including Chief judge Chetan Pangam (President of Wellington branch NZCA and winner of many awards), MacLean Fraser (member of NZ competition team who recently returned with world medals) and Anita Segerson (NZ Team Manager, ex NZCA president, Life Member NZCA, Ambassador of NZ food).
Three current HLC NZ Certificate in Cookery Level 4 students battled it out for medals across a range of culinary classes. With only 12 weeks of Cookery training under their belt, they were competing in open class categories against industry chefs with years of experience. The students were very proud to bring home three bronze medals and a Second in Category result.
Students were trained by their tutor Lenore Winterburn. The new HLC Hospitality team has been working hard over the last year to produce top notch industry-ready graduates. HLC have been getting industry involved in their training through: Forums, Interactive Classes, Realistic Experiences and Industry Visits. Programme Manager Hayley Smith says, “We have opened our doors to these people and are having meaningful discussions with key stakeholders, which is reflected in the calibre of students that are now being produced. The Culinary Fare Competition provided an excellent opportunity for our students to bench mark their improvements and to test their skills against others in the industry. The students were a credit to HLC, conducting themselves professionally at all times. We are extremely proud of them all”
Medal winners are pictured above: L-R: Larissa McDonald, Laura Daly, Kiahn Murray
Larissa McDonald received a bronze medal for her Lamb Wellington with a Bonus Rack.
Laura Daly received a bronze medal for her Crispy Skin Poached Salmon.
Kiahn Murray won 2nd in category, and received a bronze medal for his dish Smoked Venison Carpaccio with Fig and Mulled Wine Reduction.