MEET THE YOUNG CHEF FINALISTS
Beef + Lamb New Zealand are delighted to announce the three talented young chefs who have made the cut to compete at the live cook-off for the title of 2023 Beef + Lamb Young Ambassador Chef.
JACOB AOMARERE-POOLE
The Strongroom
Feilding
NIC KEARNEY
Onslow
Auckland
MAX LOH
Le Cordon Bleu NZ
Wellington
These young chefs were chosen from a pool of applicants who stepped up to the plate and presented their best beef and lamb main course dishes for the first round of judging. The judges were the Beef + Lamb Ambassador Chefs, MacLean Fraser, Cameron Davies, BJ Sebastian and Andrew May. All entries were of a high calibre and it was amazing to see the creativity and skill being displayed by the next generation of chefs.
Jacob, Nic and Max will compete at a live cook-off at Homeland on Monday 22nd May, where they will have 90 minutes to prepare and plate their dishes for the judges to taste. The winning young chef will be announced on National Lamb Day, Wednesday 24th May 2023.
READ ON TO FIND OUR MORE ABOUT THE FINALISTS
JACOB AOMARERE-POOLE
Jacob is the chef de partie at the Strongroom in Feilding. He says he was raised around a farming lifestyle and became familiar with farming and meat processors as he was growing up. He says it is a privilege to be able to cook with New Zealand beef and lamb as he sees those industries as the backbone of many communities.
Jacob says his lamb dish was inspired by the Kiwi roast with his take on the classic mint jelly swapped for mint mayo to add a creamy texture and confit potatoes instead of roast potatoes. He kept the pea mix simple to bring out the flavour of the vegetables and lightly marinated the lamb backstrap so as not to overpower its delicate flavour but add a depth of flavour. He then covered the dish in fresh foraged herbs as being environmentally conscious, he believes the way forward for cooking is foraging for as many ingredients as possible. Sweetbreads have always been a treat for Jacob, and were the perfect addition to add a crunch to the dish.
Jacob’s beef dish was inspired by the classic kiwi bbq where he focused on charred flavours. He chose a volute to represent the mixing of meat flavours which you get from bbqs and used beer in the dish to match the culture surrounding a bbq. While it's themed for a bbq he showcased beef tongue as his secondary cut because it's one of the richest cuts of meat and deserves a spot light on the plate. The eye fillet has been dry aged to maximise flavour then covered with umami from the onion dust to compete with the deep flavour of the tongue. He used bone marrow in the roux which he sees as a healthy fat that carries a lot of flavour to give a deeper stronger beef taste and bring the dish together.
Asian style sous vide lamb backstrap, breaded sweetbreads, fresh peas, spring onion and beans, confit potatoes, mint mayo and vermouth reduction.
Dry aged blackened eye fillet, beef tongue, charred pickled baby onions, watercress puree, stout gel and bone marrow volute.
NIC KEARNEY
Nic is chef de partie at Onslow in Auckland. He was raised in Oamaru and Dunedin and was inspired to cook from a young age by his mum and his nana. This inspiration grew into a passion and eventually became his career path. Nic hopes one day to be able to be in a position to teach and help other chefs to grow and learn about the amazing quality of beef and lamb in New Zealand.
Nic’s lamb dish was inspired by the classic roast lamb and three veg smothered in gravy that his nana used to cook. He says this dish highlights how elegant and modern you can make the classic Sunday roast by using different cuts from the whole carcass. Nic used the saddle to make a beautiful lamb roll and braised some lamb neck to make a choux beignet. He brought indigenous flavours into the dish by using Kawakawa and added a silky smooth parsnip puree, potato beignets finished off the dish with onions and lashings of gravy.
Nic wanted his beef dish to reflect the timeless culinary invention of meat pies that he says are simple but pack a punch of flavour. Once again he created a modern take on a kiwi culinary favourite and created an oxtail and mushroom pie. He says he wanted to add ketchup because you can’t have a pie without ketchup - but instead of tomato ketchup he used mushrooms to help pack in that extra mushroomy flavour and finished the dish by topping the sirloin with a bone marrow butter.
Lamb and Three Veg.
Greenstone Creek Sirloin, Steak and Mushroom Pie.
MAX LOH
Max is a young chef trained and associated with Le Cordon Bleu New Zealand in Wellington. He says as a young chef he is always growing and learning in the industry about the quality of beef and lamb and how good it is.
Max used three different cuts in his lamb dish from the saddle, the shoulder through to some offal to showcase something a bit different to the more traditional cuts and also to showcase different ways to cook lamb in one dish. The lamb saddle was filled with a rocket and mint pesto which he then slowly rendered the skin and cooked the meat to a tender pink. For his secondary cut he used lamb shoulder braised and shredded, then bread crumbed and fried to give a textural element and added a lamb sweetbread pie to showcase using offal. He paired the lamb with a mint and pea puree and mint infused jus.
For his beef dish he used the best prime restaurant cut of fillet to showcase the finesse of the New Zealand aged beef with slowly braised oxtail in a cannelloni, paired with a tangy horseradish aubergine puree, sweet tender baby carrots, pickled baby onion and a hearty jus to seal the dish together. Max says this dish showcases the use of the best prime cut, and sometimes forgotten cheap secondary oxtail cut which can be used on the same plate to balance each other.
Lamb saddle with pesto, lamb shoulder cromequis, sweetbread pie, mint and pea puree, and jus.
Beef fillet with braised oxtail cannelloni, charred aubergine puree, pickled baby onion and jus.