Top secret cooking!

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 10, Issue 453, 15 September 1992, Page 10

Top secret cooking!

By

Jan

Savell

If the curtains are drawn at the catering wing it won't be to keep the warmth in. Two Waiouru soldiers will soon be representing the Army at the 9th Culinary Arts Festival. When they're not cooking for large numbers in the junior ranks mess LCpl Craig Bolton and LCpl Mark Walcot-Wood sneak away for top secret sessions in the School of Transport and Catering kitchens with their coach/manager SSgt NigelCox. The two chefs will compete in the 1992 Torque D'Or competition to be held in Hamilton on 26 September. The team must create and serve their own dishes within guide-

lines supplied by the sponsors. Nestles Food Service and the New Zealand Beef and Lamb Marketing Bureau are sponsoring the event which is aimed at junior chefs. First prize includes a trip for the team to Australia with accommodation at the Sydney Hilton. Entry is restricted to students under the age of 25 who have attended a training establishment in the year of the competition. New Zealand polytechnics have traditionally competed and this year the armed forces were also invited. Air Force and Army teams accepted. LCpl Bolton, LCpl Walcot-Wood and Dvr Byron Tonkin (as reserve)

were selected as the best chefs through the School of Transport and Catering this year. It is SSgt Nigel Cox's first opportunity to coach a competition team since completing his City and Guilds 706/3 qualifications in England during a Long Look Exchange in 1990. He is very positive about the team's chances in the competition. "Bolton and WalcotWood have often worked together. They are no stovetop ballerinas but they are very professional.

I am confident they will cope with the pressure of competition" said SSgt Cox. While LCpl Bolton and LCpl Walcot-Wood were insisting that a copy of their recipes would require the highest possible security clearance we were able to find out that three dishes are involved. A starter featuring beef rump, a main course based on cuisine lamb and a sweet utilizing Nestle Food Service products are required for the competition.