Twins Georgia and Kate Sole from Botany Downs College have been crowned the best secondary school chefs in Aotearoa. The pair beat seven other grand finalists from around the country at the National Secondary Schools Culinary Challenge at MIT’s Ōtara Campus on Thursday 29 August.
The winners get a hug from their mum while dad looks on
Detailed planning and practice was the key to their success said Kate.
“We went over and over every single detail; changing the menu a million times and practicing at school and every weekend. We cook a lot at home together,” says Georgia.
Their winning dishes included a breadcrumb and herb crusted lamb loin (full description below) for entrée and chocolate peanut mousse and stewed apple for dessert. The winning prize included a $1500 scholarship each and a Moffat oven. The twins’ father, Mike Sole, says they cook at home for the family most nights.
“We’re exceptionally proud. All the hard work paid off, all those lambs that had to sacrifice themselves. It’s fabulous,” he says.
(From left) MIT’s Head of School Craig Lucas, Botany Downs Teacher Angie Thomson,
the winner, Georgia and Kate Sole with MIT & Unitec Executive Director Peseta Sam Lotu-liga
Reny Aprea, who was one of the judges, says Georgia and Kate demonstrated the ability to put two, almost perfect dishes, together.
“They showed the whole spectrum with their cooking. It’s not just the cooking of the food. It’s the plating, the aesthetics, the composition, how it looks on the plate, the colours. And to do that with an equally good second course is how they got the first prize.”
“They won through hard work, perseverance, practice, practice and practice. In the end, they nailed it,” he says.
Judges Reny Aprea and Todd Thorburn assessing the final dishes
Mr Aprea says the calibre among all the finalists was extraordinary. “They were all determined, focused, organised and their skills were second to none for how long they have been in the kitchen.”
Kapiti College won the best dessert award for their chocolate tear drop. “They had melted the chocolate and put it onto a bit of acetate, bent it and shaped it like a tear drop, then put all the elements on so precisely. The judges were really excited by that. It showed great creativity and execution.”
The winning entrée dish was made from lamb loin
The twins also won the best entrée which Mr Aprea said was exquisite. “It was small. It was perfectly cooked, balanced and well thought out. A very clever dish.”
The overall second prize went to Sophie Lydon and Ella-Jo Winikerei-King from Napier Girls High School with Sam Scown and Rozan Flores from Spotswood College, Taranaki taking third place.
The grand finalists with their support culinary teachers at the start of the day
The Grand Final, which was held in a teaching kitchen at MIT, included eight teams of two chefs who had 100 minutes to prepare an entrée and dessert of their choosing. They were required to incorporate certain ingredients, but the rest they had to bring from home.
Judges were separated into two teams with one group assessing the execution of the dishes and the other looking at the finished product. The grand finalists were the winners of their respective regions after submitting photos of a dish they prepared under strict timed conditions.
Final touches are added as the clock counts down
As the final seconds counted down, the viewing area of the kitchen was packed with friends and family of those competing. Kaye Sinclair travelled from Taranaki to support her daughter Sam Scown.
“Sam loves cooking. We get some very beautiful cooking around the house. They were both buzzing when they learned they were in the final; it was quite surreal really. We are just so proud of them,” she says.
MIT’s Head of School Hospitality, Tourism and Service Industry, Craig Lucas, who led the organisation of the event, says the standard is getting better every year.
“The competition has been in existence since about 2015 and it’s morphed a bit over the years. This is the first year that we’ve had a dessert dish to show a bit more of their skill. Today we saw spun sugar, a chocolate dome and ice cream,” Mr Lucas says.
Jett Bal from Kapiti College plating up the winning dessert dish
“Spun sugar takes a lot of practice so to do it in a competition is very good. Regardless of whether they won today, all the finalists will have got a lot out of competing in the final. The connections that they’ll make with each other and the judges will stay with them throughout their careers.”
“Hospitality is such a fantastic career for young people to get into. It’s creative, fun and you can travel the world with it. Just look at the career some of these judges have had.”
The scholarship for the winners includes a stay at an Auckland restaurant and some time working with some of the best chefs in the city.
The winners.
Georgia Sole and Kate Sole
Botany Downs Secondary College, Auckland
Teacher: Angie Thompson
Entrée Dish
Rescue Kitchen breadcrumb and herb crusted lamb loin on cauliflower puree served with hand-crafted kumara gnocchi, tossed in a sage-infused Anchor brown butter. Accompanied by New Zealand grown peas and broad beans, parmesan toile, walnuts, Kapiti Kikorangi blue and jus.
Dessert Dish
Chocolate Peanut Mousse Tart, Stewed Apple, Peanut Praline and Banana Anglaise. Kapiti aged-cheddar short pastry tart, lined with Whittaker’s peanut chocolate, filled with Whittaker’s peanut butter mousse and stewed apple. Accompanied by a banana anglaise, green apple gel and Whittaker’s peanut chocolate praline (served cold)
Second place
- Sophie Lydon and Ella-Jo Winikerei-King
Napier Girls High School
Third place
- Sam Scown and Rozan Flores
Spotswood College, Taranaki
Silver medals
- Jacob Stagg and Jett Bal
Kapiti College, Wellington - Tanesha Jeyakumar and Lily Prescott
Waikato Diocesan School for Girls
Bronze medals
- Kōrari Horncy and Ella Matson
Te Kamo High School, Northland - Luke Miller and Jemaine Wheeler
John McGlashan College, Otago - Toby Dixon and Sam Dunstan
Christchurch Boys High School
Best entrée
- Botany High SchoolRescue Kitchen breadcrumb and herb crusted lamb loin on cauliflower puree served with hand-crafted kumara gnocchi, tossed in a sage-infused Anchor brown butter. Accompanied by New Zealand grown peas and broad beans, parmesan toile, walnuts, Kapiti Kikorangi blue and jus.
Best dessert
- Kapiti CollegeTrio of Whittaker’s Chocolate Entremet. White chocolate mousse – spiced run compote – speculaas biscuit – dark chocolate mirror glaze -mandarin curd – peanut chocolate buttercrunch
