Australasian success for student's innovative dish

Budding Dunedin chef Stephanie Peirce continues to impress with her creative concoctions, winning the most innovative dish award at an Australasian competition in Melbourne this week.

The second-year Otago Polytechnic bachelor of culinary arts student's dish, titled Cinderella's Transformation, won the New Zealand final of the Proud to be a Chef competition, securing her a place in the Australasian final alongside 31 other amateur chefs.

Judges at the Melbourne contest were also impressed with the dessert, which won the innovation award.

Miss Peirce (21) designed the dish for a pastry component of her course last year.

Inspired by Cinderella, it represented the transformation of the golden carriage into a pumpkin at midnight.

The dessert featured a gold-dusted white chocolate sphere on a cinnamon and cocoa crumb with pea sprouts, over which warm salted caramel sauce was poured, revealing spiced pumpkin mousse inside.

Originally from Millers Flat, Miss Peirce incorporated pumpkin in reference to her family who owned Peirce Orchard, ''the pumpkin place''.

She wanted to create a dish which told a story and added theatre to the dining experience.

Miss Peirce said her ideal job would be for a food magazine or television programme, educating people about food and satisfying her creativity.

Associate Prof Richard Mitchell, of the Otago Polytechnic school of hospitality, said the faculty was ''incredibly proud'' of Miss Peirce's achievement.

- rosie.manins@odt.co.nz