Heat is on for trainee chefs

Heat is on for trainee chefs

The kitchen tension is rising as trainee chefs and front of house staff prepare for the ultimate test after their first year's training at NMIT.

Top local chefs and VIPs as well as 16 lucky members of the public will sample five courses of food made to recipes of some of the world's great cooks.

Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT)'s on-campus restaurant, the Rata Room, is the setting for tomorrow night's (Wednesday) food and wine showcase.

Cookery and Hospitality Senior Tutor Phillip Reay says the pressure will be on for a perfect performance by students who are hoping to make an impression as trainee chefs.

"With more than 200 dishes over five courses, timing is critical and every dish will have to be perfect. If students make a mistake it can put the whole meal out. If they drop something, the temperature can rise very rapidly".

The first year students – many fresh out of school but some aged in their 50s - are aiming to not only please diners but impress local chefs such as Hopgood restaurant owner Kevin Hopgood.

The dishes are from recipes of renowned international chefs Auguste Escoffier, Michel Roux, Heston Blumenthal, Paul Bocuse and Marco Pierre White. "The recipes may be deceptively simple but a stock for one takes three days to prepare", says Reay.

The senior tutor anticipates no shouting or swearing in the kitchen. "It'll be calm and professional, I hope, although there'll undoubtedly be tension.

"It's a performance – like a ballet between front of house and the kitchen".

Sixteen diners who won a draw out of 600 entrants can sit back and enjoy the food and different wines from Mahana Estates and Waimea Estate selected to match each dish. The diners will be chauffeured to and from home by NMIT staff.

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