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A talented chef duo has claimed both titles at this year’s Battle of the Snack, to the surprise of 130 ticketholders at the highly anticipated first event in this year’s Flavours of Plenty Festival.
Budding chef Paige Nicholls, who works at Sugo, claimed both the Judge’s Choice and People’s Choice awards for the two snack platters she created during the Thursday night event at Saltwater, Mount Maunganui.
She shared the double-win with her Battle of the Snack mentor Ian Harrison, chef patron at The Grocer.
It’s the first time in the four-year history of the culinary event that one mentee-mentor pair has collected the two top titles
“It’s the first time in the four-year history of the culinary event that one mentee-mentor pair has collected the two top titles.”
Paige and Ian prepare the Venison Wellington snack
Paige is announced as the winner
Paige’s Spice Girls snack – featuring a cauliflower bhaji, apple kasundi, coriander and jalapeño aioli, and pickled onions
Paige’s Spice Girls snack – featuring a cauliflower bhaji, apple kasundi, coriander and jalapeño aioli, and pickled onions – tickled the taste buds of event host Cuisine editor/owner Kelli Brett, who declared it the Judge’s Choice winner (the snack is pictured above).
Ian said Paige’s determination to create a deep-fried snack was an interesting choice, but when his wife tested a sample before the event and declared it a “banger”, he was convinced they might have a winning recipe.
Diners’ votes determined the event’s People’s Choice winner, with Paige’s Bambi – a Venison Wellington spring roll, portobello, walnut and truffle mousse, spinach, prosciutto and blackberry fluid gel snack – proving the most popular.
“I just tried to come up with something really yum, and here we are!” Paige said as she stood in front of the crowd to accept her double-award win.
Kelli said Paige had followed the brief to produce bite-sized snacks. Other entries lost marks if they were tricky to eat due to their larger size.
Kelli congratulated all mentees and mentors for their Battle of the Snack efforts, highlighting the way they had supported each other to professionally create and present 2000 event snacks in just a few hours.
All four mentee chefs – John Trongoy, Paige Nicholls, Giancarlos Burrows, and Pfeifer McIntyre – will now feature in an upcoming edition of Cuisine magazine.
The annual Flavours of Plenty Festival is running from 16 April to 3 May, featuring more than 50 different foodie events across the Coastal Bay of Plenty, from Waihī Beach to Ōhope.
It’s the fifth year the award-winning festival has been held. Further information is available here: https://flavoursofplentyfestival.com/
