Chefs Table competition hots up
The race for first place at the prestigious Chefs Table award is becoming more intense.
The awards, created to reward and recognise chefs, cooks and apprentices in New South Wales clubs and give the venues the opportunity to showcase their talent, requires chefs to create a three-course meal for 18 people, at a price of $22.
There are rules: chefs have to use five key ingredients as part of their menu: single origin chocolate, rabbit, fresh Australian seafood, a native Australian ingredient and Anchor cooking cream;
The finals now moving into the final stage in the next few weeks.
Finalist events are on from 9 May to 10 June and the awards dinner is on July 25.
One of the front runners is the Campbelltown Catholic Club. It has made the finals for the 10th time in 11 years.
Campbelltown Catholic Club executive chef Paul Rifkin says the awards help train and create better chefs at the club. It also gives them a chance to expand their horizons so that look at club food in different ways.
“Every time we participate in the competition I see the excitement from the chefs to learn more and continue getting better,” he told the Wollondilly Advertiser.
“Chef’s Table gives us a different challenge and a chance to work with ingredients we might not have used before.
“Every time we enter we become better chefs.”
And he says the competition is becoming more intense every year.
“The competition has definitely gotten harder each year as the organisers and the clubs want to keep getting better and taking it to the next level,” he said.
“Club food has changed a lot over the years as members have come to expect a higher standard.
“You look at us, we’ve got more than 50,000 members and we need to keep providing exciting and innovative food to keep them interested.”
by Leon Gettler, April 22nd 2016
