A spectacular salmon ceviche with pickled cucumber, horseradish mouse, yuzu gel and a lemon myrtle sable has earned Gold Coast chef Amber Heaton the prestigious title of Australasia’s Tapas Champion for 2022 – and in November she’ll wing her way to Spain to the World Tapas Competition, supported by the City Hall of Valladolid.
Amber, however, won’t be alone. This year, for the first time in the competition’s history, two competitors have been picked to represent Australasia at the world champs, with Auckland’s Fred Wong (Head Chef at Poni) also wowing judges with his innovative twist on the humble Southland cheese roll. Named an ‘Ash Dog’, Fred’s show-stopping entry was a bite-sized sensation of prawns, scallops, onion ash and black garlic, earning him a close second.
The pair claimed their victories at the fourth annual Australasian Tapas Championships, held on Monday at top Auckland cookery school Ignite Colleges, and sponsored by Ignite Colleges, E-Spain, HTT, Nestle, Unox and Great Taste NZ.
The fiery cookoff saw 24 talented chefs from both sides of the Tasman showcase their tapas skills to a panel of esteemed judges including India’s famed celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor and New Zealand’s own Simon Gault.
With just 25 minutes to create ten portions of tapas, the pressure was on, pushing chefs to their culinary limits as they worked to demonstrate their innovation, originality and skill.
Competitors were tasked with shining the spotlight on an indigenous New Zealand ingredient, a theme which saw them reaching into their produce boxes for everything from wild pikopiko and kawakawa leaves, to New Zealand black garlic and King salmon.
“It was so cool to see all these chefs finding a New Zealand product and turning it into a bite-sized dish that could potentially represent Australasia,” says Simon Gault.
“We have all these great products in New Zealand and this competition provides the perfect chance to showcase them on the global stage.”
Head judge Chef Sanjeev Kapoor agreed saying, “As a young chef working in New Zealand 30 years ago, I’d always ask ‘why can’t we put New Zealand ingredients on a plate?’
“No one was listening back then, but now they are. The dishes that have been produced in this competition are New Zealand on a plate, and I for one am extremely proud.”
