Keilor teenager Caydern Bausch’s culinary prowess has been confirmed, with the 17-year-old winning an annual ‘cook off’ hosted by the William Angliss Institute.
Caydern went up against 14 other young chefs last month to see who could create the best dish of roasted chicken breast on a bed of couscous, with a salad of julienne vegetables and pomegranate molasses.
“The atmosphere was great, it was very exciting … it had a Masterchef vibe to it,” he said.
A William Angliss chef demonstrated how to prepare the dish and, armed with a recipe, each participant had 90 minutes to familiarise themselves and cook their own version, which was then presented to a panel of judges.
“It was a challenge to recall every small detail the chef gave, but I gave it my best,” Caydern said.
The judges praised him for his presentation and swift work methods, as well as for serving the dish at the correct temperature.
And Caydern can only improve, as he began a degree in hospitality and kitchen operations at RMIT university earlier this month.
“I’ve loved cooking for as long as I can remember,” he said.
While lemon meringue has remained a firm favourite to make, his culinary repertoire is growing rapidly.
“I’ve started experimenting a lot more with mains recently,” he said.
“My next goal is to travel to Brazil and study there for a while. Brazil’s the meat capital and I’m very interested in expanding on that and eventually opening my own restaurant in Australia.”
