Entries now open for 4th annual IHHC Culinary Competition

It’s on again – the Institute of Hospitality in Healthcare’s annual Culinary Competition returns for its fourth year, with the final cook-off scheduled to be held at Melbourne’s Pullman on the Park Hotel on the evening of Tuesday 28 October, as part of the IHHC’s 42nd National Conference.

Once again the four finalist teams will pit their skills against their peers and against the clock, showcasing their creativity before a panel of expert judges, with chef and TV/radio presenter Alastair McLeod of Ready Steady Cook and Off the Eaten Track fame MCing the event.

Proudly sponsored by UNOX, Bega Foodservice and Moffat Australia, the competition has been designed to publicly acknowledge the culinary skills of chefs and cooks in health and aged care – whose talents often go unrecognised.

“Not only do these professionals go the extra mile to provide patients and residents with quality food, which plays an important role in maintaining their nutritional health and wellbeing, they also typically have to work within budget constraints which are much tougher than in regular foodservice,” says Event Organiser Brendan Host.

“Our competition is designed to raise the profile of these essential workers and the fact that they work day in and day out to produce the best meals possible”

“Our competition is designed to raise the profile of these essential workers and the fact that they work day in and day out to produce the best meals possible which are not only appealing and satisfying but also have to be nutritionally sound and cost-effective.”

These elements play a role in the competition itself, with entries required to adhere to a food cost of no more than $7.90 per finished plate and nutritional guidelines specifying a maximum of 3000kJ per dish, with less than 23g fat (maximum of 30 per cent of total kJ) and less than 750mg sodium. A nutritional analysis signed off by an accredited practising dietitian must be included with the entry.

The competition is open to anyone regularly employed within health and aged care, with teams consisting of any two of the following: chef/cook, director/manager, accredited practising dietitian (APD) and senior leader and/or staff of foodservice team. Each team is required to choose from a list of key ingredients drawn from two market baskets.

“Once again the four finalist teams will pit their skills against their peers and against the clock”

Entries close July 11 at 5pm AEST, with full details including terms and conditions and a link to the entry form at https://www.ihhc.org.au/culinary-competition.

All entries submitted will be reviewed by the Culinary Competition planning committee who will select the finalists based on originality/innovation, applicability to the healthcare foodservice environment, use of colour and texture and overall plate presentation.

Those chosen as finalists will have 30 minutes’ preparation time prior to the cook-off to undertake mise en place, then 45 minutes to prepare five portions of a recipe using the nominated market basket ingredients and other local produce.

Each team will be started off at 10 minute intervals, so as to give the judges time to look at all the dishes and ensure each dish will be judged as soon as it’s plated.

finalists harry shen and david martin at last year’s cook-off

Finalist teams will be scored according to a 100 point system, with up to 15 points awarded for organisation, 40 points for culinary skills, and 45 for taste and presentation. Judges will be walking around during the cook-off checking these factors and awarding points independently.

The winning team will receive the perpetual David Terrill Trophy, sponsored by Moffat Australia. Both the winners and runners-up will also receive a further trophy which is theirs to keep permanently.