TOP TRIO WIN GOLD MATAURA ON TRACK www.foodtechnology.co.nz 7 NEWS SNIPS Young winemakers under the age of 30 are being urged to enter the 2017 Tonnellerie de Mercurey NZ Young Winemaker of the Year Dunedin-based EPI Plastics – one of the country’s largest plastic container makers and distributors that makes foodgrade plastic bottles and jerry can caps – has been placed on the market Multi-awardwinning top chef Marc Soper from Wharekauhau Country Estate in the Wairarapa has judged this year’s New Zealand Senior Lifestyle Cuisine cooking competition Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart – a Malaysian company trading across Shanghai, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei and Malaysia – has opened the doors to its first New Zealand store in Auckland CBD after the brand launched in Australia last year Southland farmers are expressing significant interest in becoming Mataura Valley Milk shareholders and the company is on schedule with constructing its $240m purpose-built nutrition plant at McNab near Gore in Southland. General manager Bernard May says production will begin at the site in August next year with 65 fulltime employees, and up to 30 farmer shareholders are expected to be signed up by December this year to assist in manufacturing and producing up to 30,000 tonnes of premium infant milk formula mainly for export each year, alongside 500,000 litres of milk daily. “The farmer shareholders already on board are embracing the opportunity of superior returns by supplying milk into a fully integrated nutritional business,” May says. Milk supply manager Dave Yardley says farmers are excited about the opportunity. “The small size of the business, the connection they will have as shareholders, and the fact we’re going to the higher end of the value-added market are really piquing farmer interest. Positivity has returned to the dairy sector so people are seeing it as a good time to review where they are and whether they have a better choice out there.” The plant will be unique in Australasia as it will meet and exceed several international nutritional validation standards and contain features which set it apart from a traditional dairy plant. Continued recruitment of milk supplier/shareholders and staff are major focuses in the next six months. Three Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology students from Rotorua have clinched gold at the annual Nestlé Toque d’Or student culinary competition. Culinary students Mikael Aranga-Papuni and Bethaney-Mae Allen took top honours in the kitchen with a three-course menu - served by restaurant service skills student Michael Takiwa - that ousted 27 other teams from around the country. The trio also won an additional award sponsored by Moffat for their innovative use of Nestlé Professional products. During the three-hour live kitchen cook-off overseen by top industry judges including World- Chefs president Thomas Gugler of Germany, the trio made and served a starter of hot smoked Akaroa salmon and salmon tartar, followed by a crusted New Zealand prime lamb rack and loukaniko (Greek) sausage, and concluding with a butterscotch dessert and banana coconut puree. This is the first time that the award has gone to Toi Ohomai, and Allen says she and her team-mates are ecstatic to have won. Event organiser and New Zealand Chefs Association president Graham Hawkes says Nestlé Toque d’Or is the ultimate challenge for hospitality students, and is New Zealand’s longest running and most prestigious student cookery and restaurant service event. Held in 17 other countries around the world, it has launched the careers of many world-famous chefs. Prisoners taking part in this year’s Visa Wellington on a Plate are learning skills that will help them make positive changes in their lives, Corrections Minister Louise Upston says. For the fifth time, Rimutaka Prison has taken part in the event, and demand for tickets to its Gate to Plate this year had to be decided by ballot. “If these men are able to gain catering qualifications and serve up restaurant quality meals, they’ll be able to find good jobs and have a far better chance of living crime-free on release,” Upston says. The prison has held several dinners and three pop-up lunch events, assisted by mentoring from three professional chefs. Corrections has produced a video which can be viewed on its Facebook page: www.facebook.com/CorrectionsNZ/. LOCK-UP FOOD NEWS SIGN UP FOR YOUR FREE DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTION www.foodtechnology.co.nz
FT-aug17-eMag
To see the actual publication please follow the link above