At the recent bi-annual Gourmet Pacific Challenge, the New Zealand Culinary Team was once again pitted against their great friends and rivals, Australia.
The winning main course: Breast of Waitoa Chicken with Prawn and chicken sausage, hangi potato, spiced carrot puree, sautéed cabbage, broccolini, baby carrot, chicken and thyme jus.
This time around chicken was chosen as the main course protein, not a protein that is normally associated with national teams and the menus they create but the team from Waitoa Chicken made sure that their product was up to the exacting standards that these two fierce rivals and competitive culinary power-houses demand.
NZ Team business manager Gary Miller said that teams don’t normally use chicken in competitions. “We tend to go for the more exotic and premium cuts of red meat, but chicken is probably consumed as much if not more than red meat and just like the other proteins we would normally use, you’ve got to know and understand your product, what you can and can’t do with it and how far you can push it to get the ‘BEST’ from it. We were very happy with both the quality and freshness of the product provided to us by Waitoa Chicken.”
The New Zealand Team’s winning menu was –
Grilled Venison Leg Fillet
Pastilla of red wine braised venison, chocolate and chilli, feta cheese, beetroot, cocoa nibs and fennel.
Breast of Waitoa Chicken
Prawn and chicken sausage, hangi potato, spiced carrot puree, sautéed cabbage,
brocolini, baby carrot, chicken and thyme jus.
Warm Mainland Special Reserve Gouda Fondue Espuma
Oat biscuit, portobello mushroom, red wine and walnut pate, pickled buttons and
balsamic roasted Swiss browns.
Pear delice on Breton Sable
Rhubarb jelly, ginger yoghurt, sorbet, pistachio anglaise, poached rhubarb and pear with traditional New Zealand hokey pokey.
