UAE chefs invited for Taste New Zealand contest

UAE's professional chefs are invited to enter the Taste New Zealand culinary competition, with the winner to receive a trip to New Zealand.

Organised by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE), the New Zealand government’s international business development agency, the competition aims to raise awareness of the diversity and quality of New Zealand food and drink products available in the UAE among participating chefs as well as buyers, food service and retail industry leaders.

Taste New Zealand is open to all professional chefs based in the UAE, and challenges them to create imaginative dishes that showcase New Zealand produce at its best – including seafood, red meat, dairy and specialty products such as honey.

The competition will culminate in a final cook-off on Saturday, April 26.

The confirmed judges are: Zuma executive chef Reif Othman; Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management director of culinary arts Michael Kitts; celebrity chef Andy Campbell; Foodiva blogger Samantha Wood; food writer and consultant Jessie Kirkness Parker; and New Zealand Trade Commissioner and Consul-General, Steve Jones.

“Our inaugural Taste New Zealand competition last year was a huge success, giving chefs the opportunity to experiment and get creative with the wide variety of ingredients that New Zealand offers,” said Jones.

“We have made a few changes to this year’s competition and we hope the 2014 competition will be even bigger. This year, finalists will be given a range of New Zealand ingredients to develop one plate in one hour, truly testing their creativity and ability show off New Zealand ingredients and really wow the judges.”

Campbell said the judges will be looking for how chefs show off originality and flair, and that while presentation is important, flavour is more so. Parker agreed and said: "You can have presentation, flavour, taste and dexterity, but at the end, we're looking for that wow factor."

Jones continued, “New Zealand has a strong trade relationship with the UAE, particularly in the food sector, which accounted for 87% of the value of the top 20 exports from New Zealand to the UAE in 2013. Events like Taste New Zealand mark the growing presence of New Zealand companies across the UAE’s professional food sector and the investment that we are making into raising the profile of our varied food and drink produce.”

Chefs can register their interest in the competition at www.nzte.govt.nz/TasteNZ. Entries for the competition will open in March 2014.

To enter the competition, chefs will be required to submit a pre-qualifying recipe using New Zealand ingredients. Ten finalists will be selected to go on to the final cook-off on 26 April 2014 and the winner will be announced at a BBQ cocktail dinner that same day.

The winner will receive a trip to New Zealand to experience first-hand the country’s food, lifestyle, culture and tourism. Parker added: "It's one plate, one hour, two weeks holiday in New Zealand."