Chef Aaron Engeler had the “trip of a lifetime” when he went to Taiwan to compete for the title of junior chef in the Jeunes Chefs Rotisseurs Competition.
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Aaron got to spend a week in Taiwan travelling to see temples and experiencing food markets.
Out of the seven days he was there he spent only around three and half hours in the kitchen.
“They were probably my worst hours in the entire trip,” he said.
Aaron created blue crab and saffron risotto, poached shrimp, toasted chia seeds, crisp tofu, dill and chives for his entree.
Seared lamb rack, artichoke puree, parisienne zucchini, buttered green shallots, fresh golden beetroot, white wine maserated purple beetroot and porcini lamb jus for his main.
And for his dessert he made banana cream cheese mousse, jaconde sponge, swiss meringue, chocolate ganache, pecan walnut and rosemary crumb, dragonfruit.
Aaron said the mystery box was probably the hardest component of the cook because none of the ingredients really went with one another.
Aaron joked that his best part of the cook was his cleaning down which he managed to get done in five minutes because he wanted to get out of there.
“Look there isn’t too much I was proud of but I think my flavours were good, they were probably the only thing that saved the dish to be honest,” he said.
Another component Aaron said he wasn’t prepared for was the heat.
“I thought Australia was hot, but it was nothing compared to Taiwan. It was 35 degrees with about 80 percent humidity at 6am and that was outside the kitchen, in the kitchen it was so much worse,” he said.
“They had to pack the butter in ice to stop it from melting, it was honestly on the point of being unbearable.”
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Before the competitors arrived in Taiwan they were given a check list of what they could take.
“I basically had a chefs briefcase and then I saw other chefs with 40 kilograms of kitchen equipment,” he said.
“They had a mechanics tool box with eight stacks and all padlocked and I just thought, ‘okay I’ve packed a bit light’.”
Aaron travelled to Taiwan with companion Hamish Robinson, an ex competition chef who is now the culinary director of Adelaide Oval cricket ground.
Aaron met Mr Robinson when he took out the Australian junior chef title earlier this year.
“He was really good to have there to help inspect the kitchen because he picked up a few things that saved everyone,” he said.
“There were no blades in the blender, the power points were different and there were no adaptors so he knew what to look for.”
The chefs weren’t allowed to speak to their companions on the day of the cook but they were allowed to strategise before the competition started.
“It was very strict and even the guys who didn’t speak English had to write their menu out in their language and then without speaking to their mentor, the mentor would then have to translate it into English,” he said.
In the kitchen there was no storage containers to put their different elements of food in.
“I had brought 50 piping bags so I that was a bit full on, just another learning curve I suppose. But I wasn’t the only one in that situation, one guy only brought knives in,” he said.
At the end of the competition the chefs were invited to a dinner at which they were inducted into the organisation by being knighted with swords.
The winner of the competition was a Vietnamese chef from Canada who, according to Aaron, was very modest.
“No-one deserved it more, he was the most modest and humble guy,” he said.
Aaron said that being able to watch the other competitors was a great learning experience.
“There was this German guy who’s ethic was amazing, he was running around and just throwing things onto his table and they were landing in the perfect position,” he said.
“The Swedish guys were phenomenal with what they were doing, you could tell that they knew what to do in a competition atmosphere.”
Aaron has never done any other competitions and his advice to people who are considering entering is to expect the unexpected so practise when you can.
“I did practise shifts in Sydney at the Intercontinental and it was super helpful, because I was using ingredients that I hadn’t used since I was an apprentice,” Aaron said.
“Another thing would be to get your timing right because some times you think you are powering through and you actually don’t have much time left.”
Aaron said that doing this competitions has brought out a fascination with the judging side of things.
“When you are watching things you can pick them up, but when you are cooking you don’t notice,” he said.
“It’s such an esteemed position to be a judge, in my eyes, something about it that I quite like, so I might look into getting my judging certificate.”
Despite not being happy with his cook, Aaron said he will always remember this experience.
“This is the most memorable trip I’ve ever had,” he said.