Winners announced for the Rabobank Root to Tip cooking contest.

The nervous excitement was tangible as the fizzing finalists set up their kitchen spaces at the 2019 National Finals of the Rabobank Root to Tip cooking competition. After weeks of practice, 12 teams of primary school students from across New Zealand had travelled to Weltec in Wellington, to cook for some of New Zealand’s top food judges and try for the title at the 2019 Rabobank Root to Tip competition. A true masterclass of how to make the most of fresh New Zealand food, the Garden to Table-led contest, held at Weltec in Wellington on Friday 23rd August, was the chance for 12 teams of primary school students in Years 5 and 6 from the length and breadth of New Zealand to show what they could do with fresh, seasonal and locally-sourced ingredients, leaving little or no waste at the end.

Handmade ravioli, volcanic vege roast, butternut crisps, kumara “bangy burgers”, vegetable masala and fresh dumplings; apple bombs, creamy rhubarb and kiwifruit ice cream, and self-saucing beetroot chocolate puddings were among the 24 dishes dreamed up by the primary school students who had travelled from as far as Northland and Invercargill for the competition.