Pupils from the school won both the senior and junior sections of the Otago regional burger competition final in Dunedin yesterday.
The Beef and Lamb New Zealand-sponsored annual competition challenges pupils to turn beef or lamb into an appetising burger, with nutritional value, appealing appearance and flavour harmonies.
The senior section was won by Kaikorai Valley College year 13 pupil Monique Edie (17) with a Turkish lamb burger with yoghurt dressing, and the junior section by Kaikorai Valley College year 10 pupil Tegan Vickery (14) with a Mediterranean lamb burger with French dressing.
"It always amazes me that these school kids manage to produce something that would be saleable in a decent cafe," Beef and Lamb New Zealand nutrition manager Fiona Carruthers said yesterday.
"There are a lot of components to a burger to get it all together. We're looking for flavour combinations and good texture and flavour of the meat."
The pupils had an hour to cook and prepare their gourmet burger from scratch, while judges assessed their preparation and working methods, before the composition and flavour of the finished product was ranked.
"I just tried to do everything as well as I could, with lots of flavour and colour," Otago Girls' High School pupil Abbie Larson (14) said.
"You know the meat is right when it springs back when you push it."
Pupils from Kaikorai Valley College, Bayfield High School, Kavanagh College, Otago Girls' High School, Twizel Area School and Central Southland College took part in the event.
The judges were Otago Polytechnic senior cooking lecturer Tony Heptinstall, Pier 24 chef Michael Coughlin and Ms Carruthers.
Monique and Tegan will go on to compete in the national final in Auckland on September 24, with the winning senior receiving $750, the winning junior $500 and their schools $1000 each.
