Premier Selection Awards 2016 Winners Announced

"Posted" 09/02/2017

Chameleon Restaurant, Wellington has taken out the title of Premier Master of Fine Cuisine at the annual Silver Fern Farms Premier Selection Awards, held in Auckland.

The restaurant also won awards for Best Beef Dish and Best Metropolitan restaurant.

Chef de Cuisine at the Chameleon Restaurant InterContinental Wellington, Paul Limacher, impressed judges with his dish: Silver Fern Farms beef tenderloin, mushroom ragout, roast Parmesan gnocchi, button onion & asparagus. Judging coordinator Kerry Tyack described Limacher’s dish as ‘consistent and faultless’.

“Elegant and visually appealing it was clear every detail had been considered and attended to - plenty of rich, savoury aromas, a perfectly cooked tenderloin and a combination of complementary textures that allowed the meat reign supreme,” said Tyack.

Other Silver Fern Farms Premier Selection Awards winners are:

• Daniel Hill, head chef at Pitches Café and Restaurant, Ophir is runner-up to Premier Master of Fine Cuisine and also won Best Regional Restaurant. Daniel won this award in the 2015 Awards.
• Geoff Ngan, head chef Shed 5, Wellington for Best Lamb Dish
• Greg Piner, group chef, Vault 21, Dunedin for Best Venison Dish

Tyack said, “ This has been another exciting year in the ongoing development of the Silver Fern Farms Premier Selection Awards. Each year there are improvements, refinements, innovations and discoveries. The judges were delighted to see chefs opting for less conventional cuts, using Asian ingredients to deliver dishes that reflect Kiwis growing fascination with that region of the world and opting to take up the less is more mantra. We also noted that chefs had taken on board feedback from previous years about letting the meat remain the focus of the dish and ensuring the chosen cooking techniques brought out the textural qualities of the Silver Fern Farms products. Overall the standard was very high with another collection of exceptional culinary creations.”

Silver Fern Farms general manager marketing, Sharon Angus, says she was excited to see how chefs continued to innovate with our lamb, beef and venison this year. They have inspired our imagination with their creativity – ensuring the meat is the hero, but subtly enhancing with bursts of flavor through fresh herbs and spices. Generally, we see food trends beginning in foodservice, and then they filter down to home cooks. The finalist’s entries will certainly inspire New Zealand’s imaginative home cooks.

“Consumers are becoming more adventurous in their food choices – looking for unique flavors and taste sensations.“

The Silver Fern Farms Premier Selection Awards, now in their fourth year, celebrate the artistry and creativity of New Zealand’s top red meat chefs by inviting them to create an original dish using a Silver Fern Farms cut of lamb, beef or venison.

Seventy-three entrants from Paihia to Winton were narrowed down to twelve finalists, who were re-judged by Kerry Tyack and Tony Adcock, both well-respected critics in the food and beverage industry and experienced judges in national food competitions.

Diners can experience the finalist and winning dishes until the end of February 2017.