Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) Cookery students had the opportunity to work with some of New Zealand’s finest chefs recently when they hosted the Scott Richardson Memorial Dinner at Hansen Hall.
‘A Dinner for Scott’ is the legacy of well-known SIT and Southland Boys’ High School Hospitality/Cookery tutor, Scott Richardson, which serves as a fundraiser to assist local students planning a career in the hospitality industry, and remembers the mentoring Mr Richardson gave numerous budding chefs.
In the impressive line-up of guest chefs at the August 8th and 9th event were Peter Gordon, Javier Bassaletti, Julie Han, Henry Onesemo, Norka Mella Munoz, Bret Cameron, and Laura Metcalf. Each chef took charge of one of the seven courses; from canapes to desserts, diners were wowed with dish after dish of exquisitely prepared food, some showcasing Southland produce.
Level 4 Cookery student Hery Sakti, and Level 3 Cookery student Ciara Duffy clocked up some unforgettable experiences as they took part in the annual event which requires a large team behind the scenes for two full days - much of that time is spent on food preparation - culminating in the seven-course dinner on the Saturday evening.
Mr Sakti carried out multiple jobs over the two days and was very pleased to work with the chef he’d requested - Henry Onesemo, originally from Samoa, who owns Tala, an Auckland restaurant serving contemporary Samoan food. “I really like his style of food. He’s from close to my home (Indonesia) and uses lots of natural resources,” Mr Sakti explained.
“I helped [Henry] on quail eggs; I worked with Peter Gordon on filleting monkfish; it was really good. They taught us step by step and were very patient with us.”
Top of Mr Sakti’s list of achievements for the dinner was learning how to plate up in a real-life dinner service. “We plated up as a team. They taught us how to remain calm under pressure; it’s quite high pressure in the service.” Mr Sakti felt honoured to be singled out by Chef Ethan Flack, who took the lead for the dinner service. “Ethan
pointed at me… He said, ‘I need your help to go out and fix the Quail eggs while serving.’ I was grateful for that experience.”
Mr Sakti also had the pleasure of meeting Justin Yau, the owner of StoryBites, a New Zealand-based food network and creative agency who came to film the event for their YouTube channel. “I wanted to study in New Zealand because of them... I’ve been following them for a while…”
Mr Sakti said all the guest chefs were amazing to work with; he especially enjoyed his one-on-one session with Peter Gordon, as well as the great sense of humour the chefs had during the busy event. “Chef Norka was telling jokes to relax the students... To be honest, all the chefs were really humble.”
Level 3 student, Ciara Duffy, was still buzzing from the experience. “The whole thing was really fantastic and stands out as one of the most fun things I’ve done,” she enthused; working with Chef Han and Chef Simon Suffolk on desserts was “very collaborative”.
“It was a privilege to work with such accomplished chefs, getting to work on something so different – large scale, high stakes, and glamorous. It really challenged me, but it was great fun.”
Miss Duffy’s team made chocolate glazed domes, with a biscuit base, almond chocolate sponge, chocolate crème, gin jelly and berries. “The agar helps the jelly to set along with gelatine; I’ve never seen it used before with gelatine. There was so much technical stuff I learned. It was a very technical dish we made.”
She worked on various components of the dish: weighing out ingredients; assembling the dishes; cutting almond chocolate sponge into perfect circles. “It was totally different to anything I’ve ever cooked. It’s such a polished, high-end, visually fantastic dish I’ve not come across before. It’s … a refined process to make it. You have to be precise.”
Miss Duffy admitted to feeling a bit anxious about the dinner service. “It’s fast-paced; you can’t miss anything,” she said, and it was a long day; the students worked until midnight on the second day.
“… yes, it was tiring. Everything’s going so quickly, and the adrenaline is pumping… but it worked out.” I learned to be generous and patient with myself… I had nothing to be nervous about. The next time I come across this I can be more confident.”
“It’s an experience I can add to my repertoire – it’s a great piece of experience in that regard.”
She also had positive comments about working with other students from outside her course. “The event was well staffed... I hadn’t worked with a mixed group of Level 4s and high school students. It pushes you to step outside your comfort zone to work with new people; it’s something I’d love the chance to do again.”
It was Miss Duffy’s first opportunity on her course to make desserts, which she says gave her insight into what she enjoyed. “It gives me ideas about my future. It gave me confidence and broadened my horizons.”
Glenn Stridiron, SIT Programme Manager Hospitality / Cookery, acknowledged the efforts of the team behind the scenes, giving credit to SIT staff, whose high level of commitment facilitated a smooth-running, successful event. “We provide the hall and our facilities, but it’s really all about people; they make the event what it is.”
He also gave a shout-out to local high schools who came on board with students to work alongside SIT students. “Southland Boys’ High School, James Hargest College, Aurora College, Southland Girls’ High School, Central Southland College, Menzies College: a big thank you to all who got involved.”
Motivated by creating opportunities for students to learn and grow, Mr Stridiron said the highpoint of the dinner was seeing students engaging with the guest chefs. “They had fun, they loved it. For me, it’s all about seeing chefs and students connecting with each other, to set our students up for industry success,” adding the guest chefs were wonderful to work with. “They were engaging, very professional and respectful of us, and appreciative of all that we did.”