By Laura Rancie.
While our attention is ready to turn to the Paris 2024 Olympics, few people know that every four years in Germany are the equally prestigious, Culinary Olympics.
Australia’s team, comprising 18 Chefs from a variety of backgrounds and ethnicities, has been chosen and has already started training for the big event. Senior Squad Captain Andrew Ballard, Youth Squad Captain Amber Heaton and Team Manager Pat O'Brien give insights into the challenges and what competitors will face.
Andrew Ballard, Senior Squad Captain:
Familiar with the realm of competition, Andrew Ballard, Senior Squad Captain, boasts a notable history. He has not only twice showcased New Zealand on the international stage of Bocuse d’Or but has also engaged in numerous other prestigious contests.
"The more you compete, the better you get at it, hopefully,” Andrew says. "It’s a great way to refine your skillset. You can always tell when a Chef has competition experience by the way they tackle their work - their mise en place is always on point, so is their time planning – those skills are enhanced when you compete on a regular basis, they become standard practice.”
Competing also gives Chefs the chance to spread their creative wings. Andrew adds: "In any given kitchen there are very few people who get the chance to be creative - usually it’s one person, the Head Chef, who designs the menus and everyone else has to execute them.
"So for young Chefs and those not running kitchens, competing is a chance to develop ideas and put them out in front of people for everyone to criticise.
"In high-level competition, you’re actually developing concepts: the Olympics, Bocuse d'Or and Culinary World Cup are to avant-garde food what the catwalk is to fashion - a lot of people look to them for what the new trends will be. I see a lot of the ideas that come through these competitions filtering down into high-level restaurants around the world.”
Having already competed in the Culinary World Cup last November, plus a series of events lined up prior to the Olympics, including one in Shanghai scheduled for November, the Senior Squad for Australia's Culinary Olympics is composed of a six-member team (three Chefs and three assistants) actively involved in kitchen duties, along with an additional reserve member. Outside the kitchen, two more team members play crucial roles: one serving as the maître d' and the other as an understudy.
Andrew adds: "They’re kind of qualifiers if you will - you've got two years of solid training leading into the actual Olympics and for each of those years you're training almost on a daily basis. On an average week, I would probably spend about 20 to 30 hours on the dish trials and background paperwork, workflow plans, refining the recipes and all the bureaucratic stuff that sits behind the job. We don’t get paid for any of that, it’s all on our own time, so it’s an expensive practice for someone to take part in."
Youth Squad Captain Amber Heaton:
Amber Heaton divulges that to be on the youth squad you need to be under 25 and because most of the team are over 20, they realise they only have one shot at this. She says: "Everyone has a lot of respect for each other, we’ve all got each other’s backs and we all want to walk away with a gold medal.”
Team Manager Patrick O'Brien:
It’s a different story for team manager, Pat O’Brien who has participated in all five Culinary Olympics over 21 years. Part of his role involves ensuring the team's cuisine mirrors the elevated global benchmarks set by today's food service sector. Pat explains: "We do that by keeping an eye on what competitions are happening around the world, looking at the dishes, photos and descriptions and seeing what’s out there.
"Many other teams competing are government-funded, but not so for Australia. Scandinavia for example, is seen as a tourism draw card and shows up at the competition in a customised bus with 'built-in prep kitchens', whereas we turn up with a hire car with our equipment in the back.
"Australians are famous for being able to jury-rig stuff up, that’s part of our national identity, but we still need to fly 21 people to Stuttgart, ship equipment to them and get them around. It’s an expensive undertaking - we're not trying to raise money to buy a personalised bus, but to get the bare minimum needed to excel over there."
To support the Aussie Culinary team at the Culinary Olympics next February, especially in the leadup, you can head to this Go Fund Me page, where they have set a goal of $150,000.
Considering these young Chefs give up holidays and all their time off in pursuit of excelling and practising for nearly three years in the leadup, it's a small ask to help get them there. On behalf of the AGFG team and Aussie foodies everywhere, we wish you all the luck and support!
