Shannon Katipa – Wintec

Current Chef Tutor at Wintec and Chief Judge for the 2015 Waikato Culinary Fare, Shannon is no stranger to the big stage. 2 time Runner up for New Zealand Chef of the Year, and 3 time Finalist on the Monteiths Wild Food Challenge including the Televised series in which fellow local Industry Superstar Andrew Clarke featured on, Several Beef and Lamb Awards and even former Waikato Chef of the Year in his earlier years. He credits his success as a chef to sacrifice, commitment, determination and dedication which is something he is trying to ingrain into the younger crop of cooks coming through.

The past 19 years of industry has seen him climb the ranks and eventually become both self employed as an Executive Chef Consultant in Queensland to running several 4&5 star resorts and has also aligned himself with quality establishments throughout NZ and Australia. “I think looking back, I have been blessed to have landed some very big roles so now I feel it’s the right time I give back to my industry and train the next generation.”

Last year saw Shannon train 8 top Wintec students to compete at the New Zealand Culinary Fare and all 8 came back with medals and massive smiles on their faces. We even snatched Gold in one event which was a massive achievement for the student and also Wintec as a training provider.

My food philosophy… “simply, love what you do and treat the humble ingredients with the respect they deserve” and have fun!