Aspiring chef Julius Caesar has taken out top place at the Lee Kum Kee New Zealand Developing Chefs Challenge 2022.
A senior chef de partie at Ponsonby Road Bistro, Caesar competed alongside three other young chefs at the final event held in Auckland last month. Julius presented a dish of crispy pork belly, pork mince, noodles and crispy wontons.
Open to all chefs under the age of 40, either working or training in New Zealand, the competition saw entrants submit a Chinese or Chinese-inspired dish and video online using a minimum of three Lee Kum Kee sauces or condiments.
Battling it out in front of a live audience at Main Course in Auckland on Monday, the finalists had 90 minutes to make and present their dish to a judging panel made up of Main Course owner Sonya Oyston, Waitakere Licensing Trust Head Chef Paulie Hooton, and Mark Dronjak, a seasoned chef with over 40 years’ experience and a wealth of published work.
Taking home a $3,000 cash prize and the title of 2022 Lee Kum Kee New Zealand Developing Chef, the judges described Caesar as a “talented chef with a mature palette and a big future”.
The 2022 Lee Kum Kee New Zealand Developing Chefs Challenge was proudly supported by Gilmours and Trents.