Lachy & Parker Crowned Schools Culinary Champs

Earlier this week, senior Food & Hospitality students Lachlan Sampson (Port Lincoln High School) and Parker Donovan-Wormald (Navigator College) drove to Adelaide to compete in the annual SA Secondary Schools Culinary Championships – we are delighted to report that Lachy and Parker were crowned the champion team for 2022.

Each year, the Australian Culinary Federation (ACF) conducts a cooking competition for high school students in each Australian state. This event is a great opportunity for students with an interest in becoming a chef to gain invaluable contacts within the hospitality industry. It is also a lot of fun, and a great learning experience for staff and students alike. The aim of this competition is to give students an insight into the hospitality industry and to identify and encourage students who demonstrate a talent and a passion for cooking.

Lachy and Parker were taken to Tuesday’s action-packed competition at Regency TAFE in Adelaide by Navigator College Food & Hospitality teacher, Mrs. Sonia Ford – we offer our sincere thanks to Sonia for enabling Lachy to participate. There they prepared an incredible winning dish – Chicken Involtini with Spinach, Mushrooms & Ash Brie with Creamy Garlic Mash, Honey Glazed Carrot & Zucchini. With 50% of their marks allocated to flavour, it was vital to create a delicious, well-seasoned meal.

Competitors were given the opportunity to watch a professional demonstration which highlighted how to utilise chicken off-cuts to create additional flavour complexities within a dish. They also tasted popular bush tucker products such as red finger limes, lemon myrtle and green ant marmalade. Following the competition, they were treated to a mushroom masterclass by the owner of Westside Mushies, producers of a huge array of gourmet mushrooms for some of Adelaide’s finest restaurants.

Congratulations to Lachy and Parker, their families and Sonia on this amazing achievement. As a result of their victory, the lads have been invited to represent South Australia at the National Secondary School Culinary Championships in Melbourne. Their trip will be funded by the ACF and coincides with Fine Food Australia, the nation’s premier food expo for culinary professionals. We wish the boys all the best for the nationals and look forward to reporting on their efforts later in the year.