This McDonald is a burger Queen

Kate McDonald (15) with her champion lamb burger, which also comes with mint aioli, beetroot...
Kate McDonald (15) with her champion lamb burger, which also comes with mint aioli, beetroot relish, a side of kumara fries and horopito salt. Photo by Gerard O'Brien.
Is there something in a name? Kate McDonald doesn't think so, despite winning a New Zealand burger-making competition.

The St Hilda's Collegiate School pupil believes it is her ability as a chef which led her to success in the senior section of the 2011 Beef and Lamb New Zealand secondary school burger competition.

Kate's lamb burger with mint aioli, beetroot relish, a side of kumara fries and horopito salt impressed the judges.

The competition encouraged pupils to turn a base product of beef or lamb into an award-winning burger, taking into account nutritional value, the degree of cooking, flavour harmony and presentation.

Kate said she tried to go for simple flavours and "a rustic look".

"I only used rosemary and salt and pepper in the burger. I didn't want anything outrageous flavouring the burger. The taste of the meat is enough."

Her burger also presented strong links to the Otago region, with the kumara fries wrapped in a page of newspaper from the Otago Daily Times and horopito leaves picked from trees in the Dunedin Town Belt added to the sea salt for a peppery flavour.

Kate had 60 minutes to create the dish for a judging panel during the grand final in Auckland recently, which was a "nerve-racking experience", she said.

"I hadn't had a lot of experience in competition cooking.

"Keeping a cool head and being well organised was the secret to success."

Now the excitement of the competition is over, Kate said she was looking forward to putting her head to work, studying for NCEA level 1 examinations, which begin next month.

john.lewis@odt.co.nz

Add a Comment

 

Advertisement