Apprentice and junior chefs, who are:
• Australian or New Zealand residents or a holder of a valid visa during the competition period (May 29 – September 4, 2024).
• Aged from 16 and under 25 years on 31st December 2024.
• A culinary student or currently employed (or recently employed within past 12 months) in a culinary profession (e.g., chef, cook, apprentice) and have the consent of their employer prior to entering.
The first phase of the competition is the Regional & Metro Cook-Offs (Round 2), see below for dates and locations. Each chef will prepare and present in 2.5 hours, two covers of each course: Main (Hot: Protein with appropriate accompaniments) and Dessert (Hot or cold).
The dishes will be judged to globally recognised standards with the opportunity to win medals at each stage.
MAY
29/05/24 NSW Regional Grafton
Location: TAFE NSW Grafton
JUNE
12/06/24 New Zealand South Island
Location: ARA Institute of Canterbury
13/06/24 - 14/06/24 New Zealand North Island
Location: Ignite Colleges
24/06/24 Australia Capital Territory
Location: Canberra Institute of Technology
26/06/24 South Australia - Adelaide
Location: TAFE SA Regency Campus
30/06/24 Western Australia - Perth
Location: Nth Metro TAFE Joondalup
JULY
03/07/24 NSW Regional Newcastle
Location: TAFE NSW Hamilton Campus
09/07/24 Victoria – Melbourne
Location: William Angliss Institute
11/07/24 Northern Territory
Location: Charles Darwin University
16/07/24 New South Wales Metro Sydney
Location: TAFE NSW Ryde
18/07/24 Tasmania
Location: Tas TAFE Drysdale
20/07/24 South Queensland - Brisbane
Location: TAFE Queensland
Please note that NSW Regional will consist of two heats in the following towns (Newcastle & Grafton). The NSW Regional participant who scores the highest points from the two NSW Regional heats will be invited to participate in Round 3.
The successful winners from the Regional & Metro Cook-Offs, will compete at the Grand Final Cook-off, to be held in the ACF Culinary Challenge Arena at Fine Food Australia on Monday 2nd & Tuesday 3rd September 2024. The winner will be announced at an Industry Awards Dinner on 4th September.
