Kiwi Chef Takes Nestle's Golden Chef of The Year!

Nov 20, 2020

With this year being the time that young chefs needed support more than ever, the Nestle Golden Chef's Hat Awards promised to uphold its 55-year legacy of developing the next generation of talented chefs. In a year like no other the competition had to adapt to a new virtual format, sourcing a line-up of ten young Chefs from right across Australia and New Zealand.

“In a year marked by many challenges, it’s been wonderful to see the Golden Chefs competition adapt and become even more relevant to young chefs. With lots of culinary competitions switching off this year, together with Nestlé Professional, we didn’t waiver in standing by young chefs. Vital opportunities like this are an essential part of their career advancement,” Karen Doyle National President Australian Culinary Federation.

Multiple finals were held across different locations due to lockdowns and travel restrictions, with the top ten Chefs pushing themselves across entree, main and dessert courses. Gold medals were achieved by Eve Sheraton from Brisbane and Maverick Cuthbert from Perth and Sam Heaven from Napier, New Zealand.

Sam, who was representing North Island was crowned the 2020 Golden Chef of the Year.  “This caps off an incredibly challenging time not only for me but for all the other young chefs across New Zealand and Australia who have had to deal with such difficult times. To achieve success in this event I had to park all the stresses of job issues and lockdowns, and forge ahead with an end game in mind of winning”.

Watch the Virtual Awards and share the journey of the Chefs below