NESTLÉ PROFESSIONAL FOCUS ON YOUNG CHEFS
The Spotlight On Singapore’s Young Chefs And New Talents
The Second Annual Rising Chefs Challenge 2010
23 SEPTEMBER 2010 – As part of its commitment to nurture the young in the hospitality industry, Nestlé Professional along with the Singapore Junior Chefs Club organised the second annual Rising Chefs Challenge 2010 last Saturday, 18 September at Tourism Academy @ Sentosa. Eight teams of two junior chefs each competed ina gruelling challenge that saw them pittheir culinary skills to be recognised as the Rising Chefs of 2010. The teams from different culinary schools and restaurants were given two hours each to prepare a restaurant platter for five, focusing on creativity, technique, taste and nutrition using three Nestlé Professional products – MAGGI Chef’s Secret, MAGGI Mash Potato Instant Mix and Buitoni Coulis De Tomate.
Temasek Polytechnic proved to be the culinary college to beat when three of its teams emerged as the top three winners of the competition. The champion walked away with a challenge trophy, certificate and the ultimate prize of an all-expense paid trip to China to intern and train at one of the country’s top restaurants. The winner was The Secret Chefs. Made up of Temasek Polytechnic’s applied science students, Andy Tan and Ethan Goh, the duo created a restaurant platter that showcased their creativity. Goh said, “We decided to make full use of a whole duck when we brainstorm for ideas for our dish. We sous vide the duck breast and served it with an orange carrot purée while the duck thigh was braised with the Buitoni Coulis de Tomate. The bones from the duck were used to make our cooking stock and we also featured a polenta crumbed foie gras to complete the dish.”
Team Temasek CCM (Calvin Tan and Piak Jia Ying) proved to be a force to be reckoned with as the first runner-up. Their creation of herb crusted lamb rack and spiced loin, ratatouille of Buitoni Coulis de Tomate, asparagus and glazed pearl onion, Maggi croquette potato with currant and berry sauce charmed the judges with their originality and creativity. They also took home a challenge trophy and certificate for their effort along with a knife set worth S$1,400. Tan revealed, “We really enjoyed using these products. They’re so versatile and we benefitted from it. It was definitely a good challenge for us as we managed to incorporate the three products seamlessly into our dish.”
The second runner-up prize of a challenge trophy, certificate and S$700 book hamper went to Pay Sin Wei and Jessica Tan of Team BCS, also from Temasek Polytechnic. They both also won the best hygiene title. Presenting a unique dish, the duo went with sous vide shark steak in spicy tomato avocado sauce, sour cream Duchesse potatoes and sautéed asparagus in raspberry infused hollandaise. Pay shared, “When we found out that we’re supposed to use the Maggi Mash Potato Instant Mix, we knew we had to create a new version of the famous Duchesse potatoes. We’re very happy with the results. Like our fellow competitors, we used the Maggi Chef’s Secret Seasoning as our flavouring. We omitted the usage of salt because it was better than salt, full of flavours!”
The remaining participants each received a consolation prize as well as a certificate and they are Team Cuscaden (Yeo Sheng Xiong and Muhammad Shawal), Team Victory (Jessica Tan and Rachael Koh), Team Les Atascia (Kiti Kui and Leong Li Ping), Team MK (Chia Jue Xian and Jeagan s/o Nadzan) and Team Republic One (Agassiz Kong and Wong Quinnson).
The adjudicators of the competition represented the who’s who of Singapore’s culinary scene. Led by the culinary godfather, Chef Otto Weibel himself, the panel consisted of Chef Eric Teo, president of the Singapore Chefs Association, Roger Frei, Nestlé Professional’s regional food manager for Asia, Oceania and Africa and Lydia Tan, nutritionist with the Health Promotion Board. Speaking during the prize presentation, Chef Weibel said, “The judges saw a lot of creativity today and a lot of effort put in by all teams. Everyone did a good job today. It’s important for junior chefs like all of you to constantly push yourselves and participate in competitions like these. Only then you’ll have the exposure and experience. It’s more important than winning but always remember to try your best.”
Also at the prize presentation was Jasmmine Wong, country business manager for Nestlé Singapore. Speaking on behalf of Nestlé, she offered, “I’m surprised with the quality of work we have here today. It’s very impressive and I want to congratulate every one of you. All of you will be very successful one day, in your own individual way. Just remember to keep asking the question – how to make yourself better.”
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| Winning Dish |
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| Winning Team- The Secret Chefs: Ethan Goh & Andy Tan Chun Fu |
As the curtains drew to a close, Singapore Junior Chefs Club and Nestlé Professional have once again organised a successful competition and there was already buzz for next year’s competition which promised to be even bigger and better.
