*L to R: Lyall Minhinnick, Sam Heaven, Ashley Knudsen*

It's been another roller coaster of a year, especially since we held our very first Young Chef competition back in March. We have loved getting to know Ashley, Lyall and Sam and recently chatted to them about what they have been doing since competing against each other and how the competition has impacted their career.

Sam Heaven took the winning crown after a fierce battle in the kitchen against Ashley Knudsen and Lyall Minhinnick. Sam says that being part of the competition brought new opportunities to meet and work with senior chefs like Phil Clark of Phil’s Kitchen in Auckland. Sam was able to collaborate with Phil for National Lamb Day and says it was inspiring cooking alongside Phil in his kitchen.

“Working with chefs who have worked at Michelin Star level around the world, really showed me the path that I wanted to be on.”

Another highlight for Sam was being able to meet the farmers who grow some of New Zealand’s best beef and lamb. He visited Provenance Lamb in Otago and learnt all about regenerative farming and spent a couple of days in Taranaki meeting Greenstone Creek’s farmers and learning about their grading system.

“I found these farm visits a great way to really learn more about the paddock to plate journey and to see first-hand how much care goes into creating premium product for us chefs to work with.”

*Sam Heaven visiting the home of Provenance Lamb in Otago.*

It wasn’t long before Sam was offered the opportunity of a lifetime and he moved to Sydney to take up a role in the opening of Clare Smyth’s new restaurant Oncore at Crown Sydney working under head chef Alan Stuart. However, Covid had different plans for Sam and only a week after arriving in Australia, Sydney was plunged into lockdown.

“This wasn’t on my plan, but it was good for me as I didn’t have a bed to sleep on and was living out of a suitcase. It gave me a chance to reset, buy a bed and study the new recipes, techniques and menus. It gave me some breathing space and now I am ready to hit the ground running, when Oncore opens very soon.”

Chef, Lyall Minhinnick works at the highly acclaimed Fleur’s Place in Moeraki and says since entering the competition as a finalist his life has changed! He says multiple opportunities have come his way which has grown his profile and also expanded his knowledge from collaborating and learning from some of New Zealand’s top chefs.

“I loved collaborating with Platinum Ambassador Chef, Rex Morgan where we created an amazing Surf n’ Turf recipe for Matariki. It was a lot of fun and a great experience to work with Rex and cook together. Another highlight was the Master & Apprentice dinner where I went head-to-head with fellow finalist, Ashley Knudsen. It was great to be cooking alongside another Platinum Ambassador Chef, Michael Coughlin using rescued produce from KiwiHarvest and locally grown lamb.”

*L to R: Rex Morgan and Lyall Minhinnick*

Lyall has also added recipe writing to his list of talents.

“After the competition, I was approached by stuff.co.nz and asked to write recipes based on Maori inspired ingredients which I jumped on board with. It feels amazing to see my recipes in print and to be able to share my knowledge of using ingredients reflected in my heritage.”

Lyall will also be cooking with the legendary Fleur Sullivan in January as part of the Hawkes Bay Summer F.A.W.C festival at Kaiuku Marae in Wairoa. But for now, Lyall is concentrating on a new part time job working for top chef Bevan Smith at Riverstone Kitchen as well as teaching cooking classes to families in his local Iwi.

“I love being busy, doing what I love” says Lyall.

*L to R: Jack Crosti, Tejas Nikam, Lyall Minhinnick*

Life has also been busy for Ashley Knudsen who was encouraged to enter the competition by her head chef, Greg Piner at No.7 Balmac in Dunedin.

“I am so grateful that Greg encouraged me to enter the competition. Since competing I haven’t looked back, it has been a huge confidence boost for me. After the competition there was a lot of publicity, especially locally and on the West Coast where I originally come from. I am quite well known now on the West Coast and have people coming through the restaurant who recognise me and what I have done.”

Ashley added another accolade to her collection this year after being awarded a bronze medal in the Nestle Golden Chef Hat award in the South Island. She also collaborated with head chef, Greg Piner in the Dine Dunedin fundraiser for KiwiHarvest. This also opened up a conversation with Ashley on her views as a young chef about reducing food waste within the hospitality sector and at home. Her thoughts along with Greg’s created a wonderful insight for International Food Waste Awareness Day.

When Ashley’s partner Adam took up a new job offer, they moved from Dunedin to Blenheim and it wasn’t long before Ashley was inundated with job offers. She says it was amazing to be able to include her involvement with Beef + Lamb New Zealand on her CV and within two days of sending out her CV to local restaurants, she accepted a job working under chef Maree Connelly at Quench Restaurant in Blenheim.

“Being a finalist in the competition has had such a positive impact on my career. I have loved meeting all the new chefs and networking with everyone. I feel that these connections I have been able to make will be there for me right throughout my career.”

*L to R: Michael Coughlin, Lyall Minhinnick, Ashley Knudsen, Greg Piner*

It is heartening to hear such positive stories from young kiwi chefs despite the difficulties being experienced in the hospitality sector. If these three kiwi chefs are anything to go by, then the future is bright for the industry, and hopefully their stories will encourage more young people to consider a career as a chef.

WHAT HAVE OUR YOUNG CHEFS BEEN UP TO?

BROUGHT TO YOU BY BEEF + LAMB NEW ZEALAND