Christchurch Young Chef Going for Gold

Aug 01, 2023

Joosje Bouman aged 22, a sous chef at Kaisar Brew Garden in Christchurch, has impressed judges with her menu to secure herself a trip to Sydney where she will represent the South Island in Australia’s longest running and most highly regarded culinary competition for young chefs.  
 
This is the second time for Joosje to be competing in the Nestlé Golden Chef’s Hat Award.
 
Joosje says she decided to enter the competition again because she had a lot of fun competing last year and learnt a lot from the judges.
 
“I did a lot of prep work and general training in the kitchen at work in the lead up to the competition to ensure that the menu would be perfect.
 
“Chefs always look like they have more fun which is one of the reasons why I wanted to become one. It is also a creative industry which gives me an opportunity to play around with ideas and dishes.”
 
To secure her spot in the grand finals of the 2023 Nestlé Golden Chef’s Hat Award Joosje produced a delicious main course of panko crusted Pork Loin, sweet potato puree, a couscous and asparagus salad, and strawberry and kiwifruit jus. For dessert she served up a pavlova roulade, a Nestlé French Vanilla Mousse infused with Nescafé Gold Coffee, walnut crumb served with fresh fruit.
 
The NZChefs judging panel rated each dish to globally recognised culinary standards, awarding Joosje an overall bronze medal.

Joosje is now one of 12 top chefs from across New Zealand and Australia gearing up to do kitchen battle at Fine Food Australia in Sydney this September, where one winner will be crowned Golden Chef of the Year.

This year’s ultimate winner will be awarded with a two-week European culinary experience, valued at $10,000, to travel with the Australian Culinary Olympics Junior Team at the IKA Culinary Olympics in Stuttgart, Germany. 
This unique opportunity will also include a culinary work experience stage in Europe. Plus to enhance their kitchen tool repertoire, the winner will also receive a bespoke set of beautifully crafted KOI Knives.

In addition to the ultimate Golden Chef of the Year award, two $2,500 cash prizes for Best Savoury Dish and Best Dessert Dish are on offer, as well as Most Creative and Most Sustainable award equipment packages to the value of $1,000 courtesy of SOLIDTEKNICS.