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Presenting Mountain Fresh Chef 2009

Top Chef Challenge 2009

The Mountain Fresh Festival concluded with the presentation of Mountain Fresh Top Chef for 2009. The winners were announced today at a special event held at the White Room.

This years Top Chef Challenge was bigger and better then ever. In its fourth year running, the caliber of cuisine reached new levels of creativity and diversity, featuring ingredients such as kangaroo, emu and goat.

Taking out the prestigious title of Mountain Fresh Chef for 2009 was Hamish Nugent from Tsubo in Dinner Plain. The winning dish of Stanley Apples with Harrietville Sorbet was the only dessert entered into the Top Chef Challenge. The dish exclusively used Alpine Valleys produce with the berries in the Harrietville Sorbet even being sourced from Mt Buffalo. Hamish was modest about his dish claiming that he “didn’t think about it much, it just sort of happened”. After explaining the process of producing his creation, it was apparent the dedication to detail that was involved.

Runner-up for the title of Mountain Fresh Chef was Ashley Cadwell from Fountain's Restaurant with his dish of slow-roasted Ovens Valley venison, accompanied by local High Country Smoke House chipolatas. Ash went to great effort to entirely comprise his dish with local produce, saying that "although it is very hard to get local produce up here, guests respect the effort that has been taken to source the fresh local produce". Hamish walked away with a signed copy of Neil Perry's Balance and Harmony and a beautiful De Buyer saucepan from The Essential Ingredient.

The use of experimental ingredients was recognised through the new Bravery Award, which was taken out by Wookie (Lyndsay Hynes) from the General Store, with his dish of Reg Stag Emu Pie. Wookie explained his inspiration to cook with emu was due to the fact that “I had never cooked it before and it is a challenging cut of meat”.

Congratulations to James Peart who was the winner of the Critic’s Choice Award. Mr Peart’s critique was a clear stand out as it dissected every element of Jack Frost's kangaroo dish questioning and critiquing the flavor combinations that were represented on the plate.

Thank you to all chef's involved in this fabulous mountain challenge - Hamish Nugent from Tsubo, Ashley Cadwell from Fountains, Damien Kruger from Jack Frost, Wookie from the General Store, Steve Cain from Rundells, Jimmy McHugh from the White Room, and Robbie Smith from Zirkys. Tremendous job guys, see who can pip Hamish at the perch for next year!!

Thank you to our sponsors Murdoch Books, The Essential Ingredient and Boyntons Wines for their fabulous prizes.

www.mountainfresh.com.au 

29 July 2009