Ara student heads to grand finale of chocolate competition

_{Isabelle Lee's wining entry}

Ara Institute of Canterbury is celebrating the sweet taste of success with advanced patisserie ākonga (student) Isabelle Lee plating her way into the prestigious Weave Cacao Mousse Masters competition finals.

The competition is designed to showcase Weave Cacao’s couverture chocolate (which is richer in cocoa butter) and celebrate the artistry of New Zealand's culinary experts and emerging talent.

For the Promising Young Chef category, ākonga around the country were challenged to enter mousse-based desserts centred on Weave’s 70% dark couverture chocolate while celebrating Pasifika culture and showcasing technical brilliance.

Ara’s entire Level 5 Cookery (Advanced Patisserie) class competed for the chance to be considered for the event, with three exceptional dishes from Isabelle Lee, Ellouise Day, and Catrin Grant winning a spot.

All scored highly for taste, finesse and storytelling – but it was Lee who went on to take one of just three places in the national final.

Her winning dish is a bold fusion of Pacific flavours and chocolate artistry: a chocolate orange chilli coconut mousse and Manuka and Kawakawa parfait, served with orange and chilli gel, turmeric toasted coconut, and tempered Weave chocolate.

The entry, which had been in the planning for months, was inspired by her family’s interest in flavours from different cultures, particularly the Pacific.
“My family always makes Ika (raw fish in coconut and lime) with added chilli at Christmas – a dish which is known as Kokoda in Papua New Guinean culture.

Inspired by that, I used chilli and coconut in my mousse with added orange instead of lime to reflect the smoky citrusy notes of Weave chocolate.”

_{Isabelle Lee adds final touches to her plates while (right) Ara judges take on tough task of sampling entries}

Lee made the dish three times at home and tested all the components once before producing it at Ara on the assessment day. “There was a lot of trial and error!” she said.

She’ll now represent Ara at the Grand Final on 21 October at Elemental Cooking School in Auckland, recreating her dish for a panel of top judges including Peter Gordon, Kelly Gibney and Weave co-founder Oonagh Browne.

The opportunity is one she never envisaged just two years ago when she started the Level 4 Certificate in Cookery at Ara, thinking she wanted to land a butchery apprenticeship. She continued her study with the Level 5 Diploma in Advanced Cookery and is now completing the Diploma in Advanced Patisserie.

“Pastry was completely outside my comfort zone, but I’m very glad I decided to do it and I’m definitely a better, more rounded chef for it,” she said.

Plates created by Ara's two other candidates for the Weaver finals: Ellouise Day (left) and Catron Grant (right)

Patisserie Tutor and Senior Academic Adele Hingston said her class enjoyed working with chocolate donated by Weave to complete their multi-layered parfait assessment.

“They all had to produce a frozen parfait plated dessert with the mousse needing to ‘master the plate’ with additional sauce, garnish and texture elements,” she said, noting the Ara judges were very proud of all three entries sent for Mousse Masters consideration.

Hingston said Weave co-founder Oonagh Browne also stopped in for a guest session with her class, providing insights into where chocolate comes from, the importance of quality cacao and the ethics of the chocolate industry.

“Hearing about her journey from chocolatier to working directly with cacao farming communities across the Pacific was memorable for our ākonga,” Hingston said.

“Her passion for the Pacific cacao growing community, as well as her focus on the environment and farmers are paid fair and sustainable prices, was impactful.”

More than a competition, Mousse Masters has provided Ara students with a delicious celebration of connection, culture and creativity.