Emma Waser, of Wanaka, came away victorious after she and her team won the inaugural New Zealand Vietnam Culinary Competition in Ho Chi Minh City yesterday.
Ms Waser, from Otago Polytechnic, was one of a team of four including Auckland University of Technology student Jamin Gibson and two Vietnamese students, Phan Van Lam and Nguyen Ngoc Quan, taking part in the competition which saw them compete against two other teams in front of a crowd of about 150 at the Caravelle Hotel yesterday.
The aim of the competition was to promote New Zealand's expertise in vocational training and how it could help Vietnam's developing education standards as well as showcase New Zealand's food and beverages.
New Zealand lamb, kiwifruit and dairy products were among the ingredients the team were required to work with.
The three teams were required to create "fusion'' menus inspired by the work of New Zealand chef Peter Gordon, who is known for his fusion-style cooking.
The judges, culinary mentor Vanessa Baxter, chefs Le Xuan Tam and Brendon Partridge and New Zealand's ambassador to Vietnam, Haike Manning, gave Ms Waser's team 79 points out of 100, with the second-placed team scoring 77 points.
Team 3, as they were known, served up green-lipped mussel wontons in a seafood broth, braised lamb shanks with pickled cabbage and potato rosti and coconut cream and sago baviar with kiwifruit sorbet and salted caramel palm sugar sauce.
Teams created each dish on stage for the judges while a fully staffed kitchen replicated the dishes for the rest of the guests.
Ms Waser (19) said the experience had been surreal and the cooking had gone really well.
"We were a really organised team and the Vietnamese worked so well.''
Communication was via the internet at first, as they developed recipes and ideas.
It was not until they arrived in Vietnam last week that it all came together, especially after a visit to the local markets.
"It was amazing to see food so fresh.
"They'd fillet a fish in front of you and you could see rice paper being made.''
She is studying for her level five diploma in cookery at the polytech's Cromwell campus three days a week, commuting from her home in Wanaka.
A keen baker, she took her father's advice after leaving school, to get a full set of cooking skills before specialising in pastry.
She hopes to travel after graduating and possibly work on a yacht to experience more cuisines and cultures.
"It's amazing, it [travel] gives you a whole new perspective.''
-Rebecca Fox is in Vietnam courtesy of Air New Zealand.
