Treats of Taupō 2024: Apprentice chefs shine with own menu at food festival

Apprentice chefs Keegan Delaney, Jacob McDonald and Josh Diack were excited to be a part of the inaugural Treats of Taupo food festival. Photo / Treats of Taupo

Three apprentice chefs have dished up a feast as part of the inaugural Treats of Taupō food festival.

With 23 food events across nine days, Treats of Taupō, a platform for local producers, eateries and chefs to share their food with the community, has been deemed a success in more ways than one.

One of the events was the Misfit Garden Party which celebrated local produce and showcased the talents of five apprentice chefs from Taupō restaurants, Embra, The Bistro, and Brantry Eatery.

Three of those chefs, Josh Diack, Keegan Delaney and Jacob McDonald, are also culinary arts students at Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology, in addition to working at Brantry Eatery.

For the Misfit Garden Party, the chefs were tasked with creating two dishes each served as innovative canapés.

The chefs were given two months’ notice to come up with their creations for the event and said they wanted to avoid creating dishes that they made regularly.

For his two dishes, Josh Diack served up a Duck Soup Tortellini, and a Sweet Pea Pannacotta. Photo / Treats of Taupo

The menu embraced the seasonal goods from Misfit Gardens, but also produce sourced locally from Ōpepe Milk, Taupō Beef, Kinloch Honey, Volcanic Chocolate, and more from neighbouring North Island suppliers.

“We wanted to get out of our comfort zone and create something a bit different,” Diack said.

For his two dishes, Diack served up a Duck Soup Tortellini and a Sweet Pea Pannacotta. Delaney made a Chicken Liver Parfait Donut and a Spiced Pear Entremet. McDonald made a Lemon Beef and Beetroot ensemble and an English Breakfast.

Diack said being part of the event had been cool.

Keegan Delaney made a Chicken Liver Parfait Donut, and a Spiced Pear Entremet. Photo / Treats of Taupo

“It was great to be able to get out and network and meet people. I feel like people can have a false understanding of chefs as being loud and aggressive, and it was good to be able to prove that perception wrong.”

Tutor Jonathan Chemis said he was impressed by the collegiality of the apprentices.

Jacob McDonald made a Lemon Beef and Beetroot ensemble and an English Breakfast. Photo / Treats of Taupo

“Everyone got stuck in and was helping and supporting one another. I was also impressed by the calibre of the dishes everyone served up.”

Diack and Delaney said hospitality was a rewarding career and the saying “if you work hard, you’ll go far” was very accurate.

“You’ve got to put yourself out there and take the opportunities that present themselves,” Diack said.