Meridian Vocational College students showcase their culinary skills in SA Cookoff!

October 2021

This August, Meridian Vocational College (MVC) participated in a culinary competition for a variety of students from different training organisations.

In conjunction with this, the competition was sponsored by ‘Olives South Australia’, a non-profit organisation supporting South Australian olive growers for the past 25 years. This event brought the local community together, St Johns Youth Services were there to present the awards, and Chefs from the local industry were the judges.

All participants were required to create two ‘Olive Oil’ infused dishes, consisting of a main dish and a dessert. Prior to the competition, students were asked to partake in a ‘blind’ taste test of a number of Gold Medal winning olive oils. The students were asked to choose an olive oil that they liked and they then incorporated that oil into their dishes.

Ritu Chauhan & Navpreet Singh, both students of Meridian Vocational College, were stars of the show taking home 2nd place in the competition as well as winning both best main dish and main dessert in the competition.

Ritu and Navpreet created a beautiful Chicken Roulade with Green Olive Farce and Mushroom Dressing for the main dish. They also created a mouthwatering Poppyseed & Olive Cake, paired with Orange Gel and Saffron ice-cream. A big congratulations to both winners!

The competition was not without its challenges! Both Ritu & Navpreet had to figure out how to ensure their Roulade was cooked before the timer ran out. Due to some quick thinking by Ritu, she seared the Chicken Roulade in a pan to ensure the dish was cooked to perfection. Fortunately, this resulted in the team winning the Best Main Dish award in the competition!

Didasko Learning Resources proudly sponsored this event by providing a student prize for the Meridian students. The lucky winner of a Baccarat Knife Set went to Ritu Chauhan for her incredible effort and leadership displayed throughout the competition.

Didasko is proud to support the culinary industry that brings communities together that helps students achieve their goals, particularly in these trying times.

To continue the efforts of demonstrating quality and bring local industry community together in the upcoming weeks, Andrew Fielke a chef who specialises in creating Australian native dishes will be hosting a workshop in conjunction with Meridian College, to find out more about this please contact Didasko Learning Resources at 1300 554 100 or Email us at customerservice@didasko-online.com