Silver and Bronze wins at 2022 Culinary World Cup herald exciting times ahead

2022 ended on a high note with the National Community Catering Team bringing home a bronze medal, and the National Youth Team a silver medal for the Restaurant Challenge and a bronze medal for Table of Fire, from the Culinary World Cup in Luxembourg.

I am very proud of the dedication, effort and teamwork that has been put in by our National Teams for this competition. It’s wonderful to be back in the International Competition Arena and we would not have accomplished this without the generous backing of our sponsors and all the people back home in Australia supporting the teams.

It was also great to see Australian chefs back in the competition arena with the Culinary Challenge at Fine Food Australia in September, and Restaurant Challenge at Foodservice Australia in February and October.

The Nestlé Golden Chefs Hat Award went back to live competitions in all regions and the final in September was won by Gabby Sanders from New Zealand. The National Secondary Schools Culinary Challenge was won by Luke Clarke and Shaun McMahon from St Andrew’s Catholic College in Cairns and they are off to Thailand to visit Wandee Culinary Technological College for five days. The prize was generously sponsored by Wandee who have confirmed their sponsorship will continue in 2023.

All regions have been active in 2022 with masterclasses, dinners and events – thank you to the directors for their support and to the volunteers who have helped make all the ACF events possible.

ACF Victoria presented longtime member Barbara Porter with Life Membership for Outstanding Service to ACF Victoria (formerly known as AGPC) and the Victorian culinary and hospitality industry.

2023 is going to be an exciting year with many events, tours and educational opportunities planned:

For 2023, we have split the ACF National Conference into two separate forums – the first one will be in Melbourne at Foodservice Australia on 30 April and the second  has been scheduled for 4-6 June at Crowne Plaza, Hunter Valley, NSW with an exciting lineup of speakers at both events. More information can be found on the ACF website at austculinary.com.au.

The competition calendar is full, with Secondary Schools, Apprentice and Nestlé Golden Chefs Hat Competitions scheduled in all regions, and our major competitions at the trade shows have been revamped with exciting new categories. Legumes from Europe 2023 videos have been posted so please go to website to vote for your favourite one.

Masterclasses kick off in Victoria in January, with seafood at William Angliss Institute with Chef Haru Sonobe, followed by NSW ACT & Regions in February hosting a tasting of Morello Grove products including olive oil, vinegars and jams at Jamie’s Kitchen. If you would like to host a masterclass for ACF members please contact one of our region directors.

Many thanks to all our sponsors who have help make all our events possible past and future – your continued support helps make our visions reality. We would like to welcome Queen Professional as a new supporting sponsor.

We wish you and your loved ones a very happy, healthy and successful 2023 and for the hospitality industry to continue growing and flourishing.

 KAREN DOYLE
National President