Northland students win budding master chef and maître d’ titles

MEDIA RELEASE

Kerikeri High School students Brie Murdoch, Ella Bright-Young and Karen Ishikawa have taken home the national title in the final of the HSI Junior Hospitality Challenge.

The Northland hospitality students competed against 25 students from throughout the country in a series of live cooking and front-of-house events at the North Shore International Academy (NSIA) last week. The final was the culmination of regional events held across the country this year and was hosted by HSI (the Hospitality Standards Institute), along with the NZ Chefs Association and Southern Hospitality.

Ella and Karen were the winning team in the live cooking event, the vegetables.co.nz Horticulture NZ Secondary Schools Challenge. Their winning meal featured a beetroot-crusted lamb rack with char-grilled courgette, rosemary and red wine jus and a Mediterranean tart. They each received a Chef’s knife set and case, a $250 Southern Hospitality voucher for their school and dining vouchers for their teacher, Simon Hart.

Brie won the front-of-house competition by creating a refreshing fruity mocktail called “licence to chill” and producing a novelty table setting that cleverly used music as its theme. The panel of judges described her performance as ‘professional and well presented’. As well as the national title, Brie took home a food and beverage kit and vouchers for her school and teacher.  

While there were the overall winners, every one of the competitors in this year’s JHC final went home with medals, a first in the history of the event.

“This high-achieving result certainly shows how skilled many of our hospitality school students are. The competition provides a great environment for young hospitality talent to grow and showcase their skills. These are the future stars of the hospitality business. My congratulations go to all the participants for their hard work, enthusiasm and the outstanding standard achieved,” HSI Chief Executive Steve Hanrahan said.

As the hospitality industry’s national 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.

Overall winners    

Secondary Schools Challenge – Cookery event
Ella Bright-Young - Kerikeri High School
Karen Ishikawa – Kerikeri High School    

Front-of-House event
Brie Murdoch - Kerikeri High School

Gold medal winners

Joseph Galuvao & David Tevita Samuelu, Southern Cross Campus
Ella Bright-Young & Karen Ishikawa, Kerikeri High School
Samantha Davey & Lisa Nes, Palmerston North Girls’ High School    

Silver medal winners

Hayley Neal & Ella Flutey, Otumoetai College
Georgina Tata & Rachael Neho, Wainuiomata High School
Zane Neustroski & Brenda Baucke, Southland Boys’ High School
Shana Paynter & Lara Philips, Aranui High School
Adam Robieson & Callum McPhail, Napier Boys’ High School
Alexandrea Palmer & Tiana Harrod, John Paul College
Sharna-Lee Te Waiti & Courteney Dowdall, Queens High School   
David Tevita Samuelu – Southern Cross Campus
Daniel Serdet – Te Awamutu College
Emma-Jade Mechen – Heretaunga College
Brie Murdoch – Kerikeri High School
Edward Johns – Southland Boy’s High School

Bronze medal winners

Jazlyn Pickens & James Leefe, Long Bay College   
Melanie Hollis, Massey High School
Caleigh Goodley, Ruapehu College

Kerikeri High School students and winning
secondary schools challenge team Ella Bright-Young
and Karen Ishikawa.

Kerikeri High School student and front of house
winner Brie Murdoch with her teacher Simon Hart.