Forty members and friends of the Chaîne in Wellington gathered on Saturday, July 10th to celebrate the success of the National Final of the Jeunes Chefs Rôtisseurs (JCR) Competition, congratulate the winner and thank the sponsors and judges.

An eight-course dinner was served in the Artisan Restaurant of the Bolton Hotel under the supervision of Executive Chef MacLean Fraser, Conseiller Culinaire, who was one of the organisers of the Final which was held at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School in Wellington in June.

An amuse bouche of a natural oyster with aged balsamic pearls was served with a sparkling rosé from the Marlborough region. The entrée being a ‘tête de porc’ with various accompaniments, again matched with a rosé.

A palate cleanser of watermelon flavoured shaved ice mixed with a Negroni was next. There followed a cauliflower velouté accompanied by crispy fried florets with a minerally Chardonnay.

The main course was chicken ballotine with pistachio stuffing, winter vegetables and a white bean cassoulet in a jus paired with a Pinot Noir from Martinborough.

The first of two desserts, a “lollipop” of lemon and gin ice cream, was followed by a “Black Forest” chocolate mousse with sour cherries and soil partnered by an espresso Martini.

Coffee and tea were then served.

Joshua Ross, the winner of the 2021 Final, was re-presented with his winner’s cup. A medal was given to second place Gabrielle Prestige from the Wellington Club.

Josh said that he was honoured and delighted to win the competition. That he was looking forward to competing internationally, after a nervous time in the local competition four weeks earlier.

“We had three hours to prepare a menu from a mystery box of ingredients. It was very exciting on the day and the time just went so quickly,” he said. “We knew in advance that the main course would be hare which I had worked with before, but it was all a bit scary.”

The judging which was made according to international standards saw only seven points separate the first and fifth places!

Such were the high standards achieved by our young chefs.

John Bishop
Chargé de Presse