Ms Holden (21), a first-year student chef at Otago Polytechnic who already has a bachelor of consumer and applied sciences degree from the University of Otago, has been selected for the New Zealand finals of a cooking competition.
Later this month, she will fly to Auckland for the Fonterra Foodservices Proud To Be A Chef competition, pitting her skills against five other apprentice chefs for one of two places in a transtasman cookery masterclass in Melbourne next year.
Entrants had to answer questions about why they were proud to be chefs, invent a recipe containing at least one Fonterra product, make the dish and submit photographs.
Ms Holden's dish combines Central Otago lamb with colcannon (mashed potatoes with leeks and cabbage), redcurrant sauce and a feta cheese topping.
She said this week she discovered a passion for food while studying at university.
"I wanted to try out the practical side and when I did, I was addicted."
She is now completing a two-year trades certificate professional cookery course.
Cookery lecturer Stephen Ellwood said Ms Holden was "the shining student of her year" and he was not surprised she had reached the finals.
Neither was her boss, chef Michael Coughlin, who heads the Dunedin Pier 24 restaurant at St Clair. Ms Holden so impressed him during a work experience placement he offered her a part-time job.
"I'm confident she will do well."
Twenty-four apprentice chefs will participate in the masterclass in Melbourne in March, as well as dining at three award-winning restaurants. One will receive an international culinary scholarship worth $7500.
