National competition finds two more future hospitality stars

MEDIA RELEASE:

Thomas Williams of The George Hotel in Christchurch and Morgan Matich of SKYCITY Auckland showed they have what it takes to become future industry stars after being named New Zealand’s top hospitality apprentices in the national annual Modern Apprentice of the Year competition.

Organised by the Hospitality Standards Institute (HSI), the fast-paced national competition saw eight selected apprentice chefs and seven selected food and beverage apprentices compete for their respective Modern Apprentice of the Year titles in Auckland.

18 year-old Thomas was named winner of the prestigious NZ-UK Link Foundation Cookery Modern Apprentice of the Year, while Morgan, also 18 years-old, won the Southern Hospitality Food and Beverage Modern Apprentice of the Year, awarded at HSI’s national conference in Auckland.

As winner of the NZ-UK Link Foundation award, Thomas receives a six-week work experience placement in England organised by famed Kiwi restaurateur Peter Gordon, including a week in Gordon’s popular London restaurant, The Providores, and more than £3,000 to cover expenses.  He will also have work experience at one of Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants.

The competition required that Thomas and his fellow cookery apprentices design a three-course menu based on a surprise box of ingredients given to each of them on the day, to be cooked within three hours. His winning menu was a boudin of duck breast with sherry caramel and orange watercress salad, followed by beef fillet with caramelised onions, horseradish cream, rosemary jus, cauliflower puree and game chips. For dessert, Thomas went for “refreshing flavours” and prepared wasabi pannacotta with vanilla anglaise and fresh tamarillo.

Thomas says he has grown up with a love of cooking thanks to his father, who is also a chef, and he has been inspired by the top-class chefs he works with. “They have been really supportive in preparing me for the competition by giving me mystery ingredient challenges and passing on their skills and experience,” he said.

Thomas’ boss Andrew Brown, Executive Chef of The George Hotel’s Pescatore restaurant, was also impressed with his skills saying “he has real talent; a lot of senior chefs would probably struggle with opening a box and deciding what to make; he did really well”.

Thomas is looking forward to a successful career in hospitality and hopes to become one of New Zealand’s premier chefs.  He is also looking forward to the chance to further his skills in London. “The prize is a once-in- a-lifetime opportunity and will give me a chance to learn from the best and get my name out there,” he said.

The cooking competition was held at the Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT) and finalists worked in their new state-of-the art kitchens.
The Southern Hospitality Food and Beverage Modern Apprentice of the Year competition was also fiercely contested, with competitors setting and serving a table based on a three-course set menu including a silver service main, then competing in a blind wine evaluation challenge.

Food and Beverage Judge and Master Sommelier Cameron Douglas said the judging panel had a tough decision to make and described the seven finalists as “hospitable, professional, customer-focused and determined”.  

As New Zealand’s top Food and Beverage apprentice, Morgan receives a trip to an Australian wine-growing region of her choice with $1,500 towards flights and accommodation.  She scored particularly well in the blind wine-tasting section of the competition, correctly identifying three out of four wines.

Despite only being in her apprenticeship for six months, Morgan has worked hard to prepare for the competition, even practising her table-setting at home. “I’ve got a real passion for wine-tasting so am thrilled with the prize. Winning the competition has given me a huge confidence boost and I plan to study restaurant and hotel management in the future,” she says.

HSI Chief Executive Steve Hanrahan says the high standard of the competition and entrants indicates the strong future of New Zealand hospitality. “The competitors have worked extremely hard to prepare for this event and are a great example of the talented, passionate young people that will go far in the hospitality industry,” he says.

As the hospitality industry’s training organisation (ITO), HSI leads access to training and qualifications for the hospitality industry including overseeing, supervising, assisting and reviewing all nationally recognised training for chefs, waiters, baristas, bar persons, porters, hotel receptionists, room-attendants, house-keepers, supervisors and managers.
HSI also provides support and guidance to schools, polytechnics and providers that teach and assess Unit Standards through hospitality courses.