Rhys Barrington Proud to be a Chef

Rhys Barrington, apprentice chef at the Crowne Plaza Hotel – Christchurch, was one of four kiwis sent to Melbourne for three days of master classes as part of Fonterra Foodservice’s Proud to Be a Chef program.

 

The master classes were hosted by Eric Teo, Head Chef of Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Singapore; Shane Delia, co-owner of Melbourne’s iconic Maha Bar and Grill; John Lanzafame, expert pizza maker; and Peter Howard, one of Australia’s most recognised food and wine experts.

 

This was the first time apprentice chefs from New Zealand participated in the  Fonterra Foodservice’s Proud to Be a Chef program, they were: Melissa Osborne, Hamic Cafe (Milford) Auckland; Touvai Poloniati, Southern Cross Campus, (Mangere East) Auckland; Regnar Christensen, Hospitality Standards Institute, Wellington; and Rhys Barrington, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Christchurch.

   

The 34 finalists participated in demonstrations, hands on workshops and tastings at Fonterra Melbourne, as well as master classes which tested both their culinary skills and teamwork before the final cooking challenge on the last day.

Mr Barrington says being around people who are passionate about cooking and food was inspiring, with everyone picking up something new to add to their repertoire.

 

 “The sessions with Eric, Shane, John and Peter were just fantastic, one of the more interesting challenges was naming ingredients which started off being very straightforward to being incredibly obscure – we had thirty to name and if you could get three right out of the last ten you were doing very well,” he said.

“Shane and Eric worked with us preparing very different dishes. Shane demonstrated a braised goat dish, which none of us had cooked before so we found it challenging to get the goat tasting just right.  

 

“With Eric we prepared a beef fillet with foie gras sauce and mushrooms which was at the luxury end of the scale, with not much room for error.”

Mr Barrington said the competition was also excellent for contacts and networking, and he ended up staying on for an extra week working in Shane Delia’s Maha Bar and Grill restaurant.

 

“I wanted to make the most of the opportunity and gaining experience working in a world class restaurant like Shane’s was  great for my development; you don’t often get chances like that,” he said.

 

Tim Beck, Fonterra Foodservices Marketing Manager, said Fonterra Foodservices Proud to be a Chef is about finding up-and-coming chefs who will one day be the leaders of the food industry and future ambassadors.

“This was the first time the program was opened up to New Zealand apprentice chefs , and we’re blown away at how well the program was received,” he said.

 

“We’ve always been big on supporting our growing foodservices industry, and initiatives like this gives apprentice chefs a once-in-a-lifetime chance to learn first-hand from the best, enriching both their own learning and the wider Foodservices community.”