Chermside chef Trinity Garcia, who works at The Kneadery, has won the regional Nestlé Golden Chef’s Hat Award. She will soon be competing in the longest-running, most credible culinary competition for young chefs in the country, Fine Food Australia in Melbourne.
At the Nestlé Golden Chef’s Hat Award competition, Ms Garcia clinched the gold medal after impressing the judges with her complex technical skills and her ability to create delicious flavour combinations.
She prepared Asian-inspired pork with a legume and pork broth and celeriac for the main course, and apple and pear bavarois, with cardamom and lime for dessert.
The impressive selection placed the Chermside chef in the Top 12 ranking of new chefs in Australia and New Zealand, who are gearing for their next kitchen battle in Melbourne in September 2022. The winner of this competition will be named the Golden Chef of the Year and win a $10,000 cash prize.
Apart from the grand prize, two new $2.5-K culinary tuition cash prizes for Best Savoury Dish and Best Dessert Dish will also be given this year. These prizes will recognise the individual skill of the young chefs and contribute towards the completion of their culinary tuition fees.
Ms Garcia aimed for the Golden Hat to test herself against other young chefs in the industry and improve her cooking skills.
“I really love and want to keep pushing myself in my career. There is something quite thrilling about competing and I’m stoked to be getting back into it and giving it my all.”
“I love to challenge myself and see this as a great opportunity to put myself out of my comfort zone. It’s a high-pressure environment but I really thrive in that.
“I can’t wait for the grand finals, getting to go up against the best young chefs around will be an awesome experience and another learning curve for my progression.”
“I’ve always had a love of cooking from a very young age. Since the age of three, I’ve helped my mum with cooking dinner, baking and making celebration cakes. We always talked about how I was going to be a chef/pastry chef one day and I am so happy that I have fulfilled that and now have my dream career.”
The Nestlé Golden Chef’s Hat Award is now in its 57th year of presenting regional and grand final live cook-off heats.
“Our 2022 line-up of chefs have their cooking rated by world-class judges,” said Karlie Durrant, Communications & Sustainability Manager at Nestlé Professional.
“Whilst this can be challenging, being judged to globally recognised standards is the best way for young chefs to challenge themselves to create magic on a plate. Zoe really delivered on the day with a considered and well-executed menu. We’re excited to see what she creates under the intense pressure and thrill of the grand finals.”