The Australian Culinary Federation Fonterra Foodservice National Apprentice Competition Final was held at South Western Sydney Campbelltown Campus on Wednesday 26th October. Apprentices from all Australian States & Territories arrived Monday & hit the ground running on Tuesday morning when it was off to the Sydney markets at 4.30am to purchase their ingredients for the competition. With products sponsored from Fonterra, Bidvest, Nestle Professional & Krio Krush combined with their purchases the teams spent the afternoon preparing for the competition & tweaking the final details of their menus. They have come together for a week of camaraderie, networking & education including, touring The Southern highlands & culminating in a Gala Dinner at The Campbelltown Catholic Club Thursday evening. The awards were presented at the beginning of the evening prior to being treated to an exceptional meal prepared by Chef Paul Rifkin & his team.
Western Australian apprentices cleaned up at the awards night taking out top honour’s in all 4 categories Culinary Student, 2nd Year Apprentice Chef, 3rd/4th Year Apprentice Chef & 1st Year Apprentice Chef taking home trophies & prizes valued at $1000 including a stick blender from Robot coupe & Knives from Furi & autographed cook books from Australian Chefs. First time competitor Nicola Warren from South Australia prepared the best omelette on the day. 1st Year Apprentice Kok Wei Lee from Crown Perth was named Champion Apprentice of the Year taking home a R211 Ultra sponsored by Robot Coupe
The National Apprentice Competition is a culmination of many apprentice competitions being held throughout the year in each state and territory and includes training chefs in each year of apprenticeship and a culinary students section. The best apprentice from each apprentice year and culinary student section from each state and territory are brought together to compete and decide the overall winners. The numbers of competitors, training schools, culinary educators that the NAC touches is staggering, with in excess of 4,000 culinary students and teachers, each with links to industry resulting in exposure to over 10,000 chefs throughout Australia.
Culinary Students
| Quyen Trinh | Victoria | Silver |
| Tai Eun Kim | Western Australia | Silver |
| Manh Hung Nguyen | South Australia | Bronze |
| Sung Ha Chul | Queensland | Bronze |
| Wing Yam Kam | Northern Teritory | Bronze |
| Abigail Anakjames | New South Wales | Bronze |
2nd Year Apprentice Chefs
| Emma Moignard | Victoria | Silver |
| Luke Bathis | Western Australia | Silver |
| Alisha Shurville | South Australia | Silver |
| Maria Hoad | Northern Territory | Bronze |
| Sam Peart | Tasmania | Bronze |
| Dominic Della Ricca | New South Wales | Silver |
1st Year Apprentice Chefs
| Fraser Ford | Victoria | Silver |
| Kok Wei Lee | Western Australia | Silver |
| Nicola Warren | South Australia | Silver |
| Alec Stemmler | Queensland | Silver |
| William Wilkes | Northern Territory | Silver |
| Monique Okladnikov | New South Wales | Bronze |
3rd/4th Year Appretice Chefs
| Miriam Zahinda | Victoria | Bronze |
| Hayden Bilton | Western Australia | Silver |
| Nattawut Khunsombat | South Australia | Silver |
| Bernadette Gill | Queensland | Silver |
| Kelsea House | Tasmania | Silver |
For more information please contact Deb Foreman deb@austculinary.com.au Photos at www.austculinary.com.au.
