Held from Monday 21 January to Wednesday 24 January, 39 finalists from 14 hotels across Australia, New Zealand and Fiji battled it out in back-to-back rounds to be crowned Cup champions across four disciplines; bar, culinary, barista and wine.

Hilton Brisbane Team Members won three of the four Cups – culinary, bar and wine – cementing their reputation as a leader in developing young food and beverage professionals.

Judges for the Culinary Cup panel included renowned chef Peter Cassidy from Glass Brasserie, international restaurant owner and chef Sean Connolly and corporate executive chef, Michael Zorzo. Accompanied by Iain Riggs from Brokenwood, Dan Buckle from Chandon, Neil Flannery from Jameson and Emily Andrew from Chivas Regal for the Wine and Bar Cups respectively.

Hilton Brisbane’s Chef de Partie, Chaoyi “Charlie” Song, was awarded the Culinary Cup winner, creating an impressive three-course meal which wowed judges during the mystery box challenge.

With over eight years’ experience working in a number of hatted restaurants, Charlie said, “This event was a great opportunity for contestants to challenge their creativity, showcase their skills and learn from some of the best in the business.”

“The awards are a fantastic reminder of the high caliber of staff working in our industry,” said Charlie.

Andrew Purse who has been a practicing bartender for 14 years, created a twist on a gin martini, which used a teabag made from native Australian ingredients, to take out the top place in the Bar Cup finals.

The Bar Cup challenged contestant across five different disciplines from blind tasting and theory test, speed of service round, signature cocktail round, mystery box challenge, through to a beer pouring contest.

Wine Cup winner, Chris Barker impressed judges with his exquisite sense of smell and taste, in the blind tastings and pairing round.

Chris Partridge, General Manager of Hilton Brisbane, said, “The competition reflects the ongoing opportunities Hilton Hotels provides to Team Members to help nurture professional growth.”

“The Australasian Food and Beverage Masters allows us to discover and reward exceptional talent within our food and beverage operations and enables Hilton Brisbane Team Members to develop their skills and knowledge which in turn creates exceptional experiences for guests.”

The Food & Beverage Masters concept first launched in Europe in 2011 and expanded to the Middle East and Africa region in 2012. After much success, the competition later launched across the Asia Pacific region in 2015.

Click here to view the Hilton Brisbane website.

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