“My goal is to leverage this opportunity to learn and grow my career and establish valuable connections within the food industry. I would also like to inspire other young chefs, particularly those from small towns seeking guidance on their next steps and how to navigate the culinary world.”

Nic is chef de partie at Onslow in Auckland. He was raised in Oamaru and Dunedin and was inspired to cook from a young age by his mum and his nana. This inspiration grew into a passion and eventually became his career path.

Nic started out working as a dishwasher at Salt Bar and Restaurant in Dunedin. Three months into that job he knew what direction he wanted to take his career and he hastily enrolled into the Cooking Level 4 Certificate at Dunedin Polytech and moved to a commis chef position at Salt.

After a year and a half at Salt, Nic moved on to a chef de partie position at Titi, a five course degustation restaurant in Dunedin. He worked closely under the watchful eye of head chef Hannes Bareiter and sous chef Nico Parry. Nic credits his time working at Titi to be where he truly found his passion for cooking and he wanted to push himself to learn more.

After two years at Titi, the need to keep challenging himself saw him move from Dunedin to Auckland and take up a new opportunity to work at Onslow by Josh Emett. He saw this as a great opportunity to work and soak up as much as he could from head chef Glen File and Josh Emett.

Nic’s aspirations are to eventually travel and work around the world soaking up as much knowledge as he can by working alongside great chefs. Long term his dream is to return home and run a kitchen of his own with a ‘hat’ firmly in his sight.

Using respected suppliers and having a garden that chefs can take care of would be top of his list. He believes if a chef can love an ingredient it really shows on the plate. He also hopes one day to be able to be in a position to teach and help other chefs to grow and learn about the amazing quality of beef and lamb in New Zealand.

*Stuffed lamb saddle with kawakawa, parsnip and lamb neck beignet.*

Nic’s lamb dish was inspired by the classic roast lamb and three veg smothered in gravy that his nana used to cook. He says this dish highlights how elegant and modern you can make the classic Sunday roast by using different cuts from the whole carcass. Nic used the saddle to make a beautiful lamb roll and braised some lamb neck to make a choux beignet. He brought indigenous flavours into the dish by using Kawakawa and added a silky smooth parsnip puree, potato beignets and finished off the dish with onions and lashings of gravy.

*Steak and mushroom pie with sirloin and bone marrow butter.*

Nic wanted his beef dish to reflect the timeless culinary invention of meat pies that he says are a simple concept but pack a punch of flavour. Once again he created a modern take on a kiwi culinary favourite and created an oxtail and mushroom pie. He says he wanted to add ketchup because you can’t have a pie without ketchup - but instead of tomato ketchup he used mushrooms to help pack in that extra mushroomy flavour and finished the dish by topping the sirloin with a bone marrow butter.

Nic’s vision for his dishes paid off when the judges used their culinary expertise and discerning palates to appoint him as the winner.

Judge MacLean Fraser said that what left a lasting impression on the judging panel was how well Nic showcased his exceptional culinary skills - from the way he handled the beef and lamb products he chose to work with - right through to his methodical approach in executing his dishes with a keen eye for detail.