Smeg Cooking Theatre
Enjoy a taste of Italy at Auckland Home Show
The inspiration and passion behind great Italian design will be showcased at this year’s Auckland Home Show. The Applico stand, featuring Italian brands Smeg and Baumatic, is the largest stand at the exhibition.
The stand will be abuzz with live cooking demonstrations by a team of chefs who will dispense culinary wisdom and demonstrate Italian cooking using the latest Smeg appliances. These will include a new range of ovens, cooktops, rangehoods, and the very latest in design, the FAB28 DENIM fridge. The word denim communicates freshness and comfort, rebellion and style, and the fabric itself is a mix of tradition and innovation. Here it is treated with Plasma, a nano technology that protects the surface of the fridge from splashes of water, oil, milk and fruit juice.
Smeg says this is an ideal time for show visitors to gain first-hand experience of the technology of the future.
Cooking Competitions
Kids Can Cook
Talented young chefs aged 10-15 will cook their favourite recipe, with celebrity chef Paul Jobin lending a hand.Submitted recipes included ‘My Secret Recipe’ and ‘Nan’s Best Brownies’.
Be sure to visit the Smeg Cooking Theatre Friday and Sunday to see the young cooks at work, and then taste delicious delights cooked by some of Auckland’s best young chefs!
The competition is open for entries until 28 August... Enter here »
Cook-off with Celebrity Chef Paul Jobin
Three lucky home cooks will be on stand to take on celebrity chef Paul Jobin. The home cooks will prepare their favourite recipe, while Paul gets 30 minutes to create an amazing dish using the same ingredients.
The catch is – Paul only finds out what his ingredients are as the clock starts to tick...
The audience will be the judges, as presentation and taste determine who wins! A must-see on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday at the Smeg Cooking Theatre.
Cook Off with Paul Jobin. Enter here »
The Chefs
At the Auckland Home Show you can engage all your senses at the Smeg Cooking Theatre on the Applico stand, where expert chefs will show you how to cook like a professional with minimal effort.
Paul JobinPaul Jobin
Leading the team is Paul Jobin, former executive chef at The Lodge at Kauri Cliffs, a Relais & Chateaux property near Matauri Bay.
Paul has won numerous culinary competitions and food awards, exhibited throughout New Zealand and made guest appearances on various television programmes.
Paul currently works as a freelance chef and demonstrator and tutors part time at the Culinary Institute of NZ.
Each morning at the Smeg Cooking Theatre, Paul will be presenting a delicious show stopper of a meal using a slow cooker to prepare oxtail with pumpkin gnocchi, bacon chard, shaved parmesan and crispy sage.
And at 12.30pm he will be unveiling the secret to making a successful twice-cooked goats cheese soufflé and lip-smacking raspberry soufflé.
Neil BrazierNeil Brazier
On Wednesday the guest chef will be Neil Brazier, chef-proprietor of the Pear Tree Restaurant and two times winner of the Matariki People’s Choice Award.
Neil, who prefers the title “foodologist”, has a quirky outlook and a very inventive, but approachable menu.
He has travelled extensively in the UK, America and Asia, working in various Michelin Star-rated restaurants and elite country house hotels, and has worked as an executive chef for some of New Zealand’s finest eateries.
The Pear Tree Restaurant & Bar is nestled beside the Kerikeri River in the romantic Stone Store basin.
Jean Christophe VarnierJean Christophe Varnier
Neil will be followed on Thursday by Jean Christophe Varnier, head chef at Orbit Restaurant, Sky City Auckland.
Jean Christophe has more than 25 years experience as a chef, including 12 years owning and running the St Tropez restaurant in Parnell, which he recently sold to take up the position at Orbit.
Jean Christophe has worked in London and France, spending time in Michelin Star restaurants, including the 3-Star Auberge de Lill.
He has also spent two years with Radisson Seven Seas managing the Paul Gauguin Michelin 2-Star restaurant and worked with Dominique Parat and the GPK Chain.
Nick Haszard
Friday and Sunday will see Nick Haszard, head chef at Dine by Peter Gordon take the stand.
Haszard has worked in kitchens around the world and was resort chef at One & Only Resort in Cape Town, South Africa, and executive sous chef at the Mount Nelson Hotel, Cape Town’s renowned five-star hotel.
Nick Haszard
Haszard has also worked in London at City Inn Hotel and Bank Aldwych Restaurant and Bar. Travelling to the Middle East he was one of the head chefs at The Burj Al Arab, a seven-star establishment in Dubai.
Coming back to New Zealand Haszard became head chef at Orbit in the Sky Tower before moving into the head chef position at Dine by Peter Gordon.
Hayden McMillanHayden McMillan
Saturday will be the turn of guest chef Hayden McMillan, head chef at TriBeCa.
Hayden joined TriBeCa from Meredith’s Restaurant, having previously trained at The French Café, Huka Lodge and Vinnies Restaurant.
Hayden creates beautifully balanced modern cuisine in a relaxed and friendly environment.
He uses seasonal ingredients and the latest cooking equipment, presenting a style of cooking that is both inventive and highly assured.
