Young Chefs Prepare to compete in the Nestlé Golden Chef's Hat Award

Jul 01, 2022

Young Chefs Prepare to compete in the Nestlé Golden Chef's Hat Award

All the chefs, aged 18-24 years, have entered the competition for a chance to ignite their culinary careers and will be going all out to win the top award.
There are two New Zealand regional finals with the South Island event taking place in Christchurch and the North Island competition being held in Auckland. Competing chefs will each create a two-course menu (main and dessert dishes) and will have their cooking judged to globally recognised culinary standards.
A winner will be chosen for each of the two heats held in New Zealand. They will then go onto a kitchen battle against 10 other top chefs from across Australia in the public arena at Fine Food Australia in Melbourne this September.
One winner will take out the title of Golden Chef of the Year along with a $10,000 cash prize.
Now in its 57th year, the Nestlé Golden Chef ’s Hat Award supports top emerging culinary talent from New Zealand and Australia to kick start their careers. Kiwi chef Sam Heaven won the top award in 2020.

South Island Regional Finals

26 July @ Ara Institute of Canterbury

  • Hallie Graham (Picton)
  • Zak Osborne (Christchurch)
  • Eileen Prasad (Christchurch)
  • Joosje Bouman (Christchurch)
  • Sarah Barradell (Christchurch)
  • Gabby Sanders (Christchurch)
  • Anshul Gurung (Christchurch)
  • Chris Park (Christchurch)

 

North Island Regional Finals

28 July @ Ignite Colleges

  • Max Zhangyaoloh (Wellington)
  • Jacob Aomarere-Poole (Feilding)
  • Daeshance Cook (Taupo)
  • Jimmy Whitefield (Wellington)
  • Olive Ona (Rotorua)
  • Isaac Thorp (Auckland)
  • Shubham Jaglan
  • Baxter Neill (Porirua)
  • Maya Machuca (Auckland)


Get to know the regional finalists:

Hallie Graham
"My career Aspirations are to eventually open my own restaurant and for it to one day be listed in the World's Top 50. I would love to have that level of creative freedom and to design an entirely unique experience from scratch. I also aim to further develop my own signature culinary style through travelling and being exposed to many different cultures and people."

Baxter Neill
"I decided to enter Golden Chef's to challenge myself and grown my cooking skills, and to get some exposure so I can grown my connections in the industry. When I am older I want to open my own fine dining restaurant, celebrating sustainability and New Zealand cuisine."
 


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