Port Macquarie chef and owner of The Chip Shop and Car Bar Catering Stefan Hostettler is on a roll after progressing to the finals of the World Food Championships Australia.
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This is the first time Mr Hostettler has entered a competition in 20 years and, after progressing through the semi-final round on May 17, he will now compete in Sydney on May 29.
"There was an application round first and then after getting through that round, I made it through to the semi-final round which was a cooking round," he said.
"I did that on Tuesday (May 17) via Zoom, which was kind of weird for a cooking comp. I was in the call with people from across NSW and Queensland and it was a lot of fun.
"We found out on Tuesday night that we got through that round and will now head to Sydney next week to compete live on stage with the top five chefs that made it through to the semi-finals."
World Food Championships Australia is a chance for passionate cooks to compete against each other while discovering new flavours and techniques.
Mr Hostettler is competing in the burger category, which is one of his businesses' most popular menu items.
"We have to cook the same recipe in Sydney that I did for the virtual round which is a prawn katsu burger. This burger allowed us to showcase some Aussie prawns and the cooking techniques they were looking for."
If Mr Hostettler progresses through the first round in Sydney next week, he will then get a chance to showcase his signature dish.
"Our fried chicken burger is our signature dish. We've been doing that burger for three years and started out at Moorebeer in a food truck and now offer the same burger at The Chip Shop," he said.
"It's our biggest selling burger and a lot of people seem to enjoy it."
Mr Hostettler said the competition is a way to gain a bit of exposure in the industry.
"As business owners, we do look for opportunities to showcase our work. This opportunity just came along via social media and it seemed like a good opportunity to put ourselves out there and see how we go."
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