A Catering team from the New Zealand Army’s 1st (New Zealand) Brigade have taken top honours in an annual Defence Force fine dining food and service competition this month.
26 September, 2025
Winners 2nd Combat Service Support Battalion (2CSSB) were among teams from the New Zealand Army, Australian Army, multi-service Australian Defence Force and the Royal New Zealand Navy competing in the 48th Roy Smith Memorial Trophy Competition, hosted at the Defence Catering School at the Waiouru Military Camp.
The competition has been in play since 1977 and aims to foster catering excellence in the New Zealand Defence Force and across the ditch. Personnel learn from one another, develop their skills under time pressure, and fine-tune their techniques outside of a deployed environment.
Chefs, or caterers as they are known in the NZ Army, are responsible for delivering nutritious meals whether at home, on exercises or away on operations, on ships or in a tented field kitchen.
Senior Chef Instructor Staff Sergeant Leslie Kumar says the competition is an important one, particularly for junior ranks.
“It gives them a platform to pursue technical excellence within their trade and a sense of pride in their craft as they strive to get their name on the board, it’s something they can transfer to all areas of their role as both caterer and soldier.”
Working under pressure in this high-stress environment really helps develops yourself as a chef and as a soldier.
Private Jamie Check, a caterer from 3rd Combat Service Support Battalion (3CSSB) in Burnham Military Camp, says the competition helps build skills that are transferable in the NZ Army.
“Working under pressure in this high-stress environment really helps develops yourself as a chef and as a soldier.
“You learn to adapt to when things don’t go your way. You learn to work efficiently with your partner to get things done to a high standard.
“It definitely helps with working back at the Mess as you can transfer that resilience into your day-to-day or field deployments.”
Two Australian teams, one tri-service Australian Defence Force team and one Australian Army team, took part this year.
Australian Army caterer Private Rowe’s view is “morale begins with meals.
“Food shows compassion and care, it connects people,” he says.
“When we get together it’s not about: ‘I want my cake to be better than theirs’, it’s ‘I want those people to enjoy their meal’. Everyone is on the same page – you just want to do a good job.
The Royal New Zealand Navy won last year’s competition.
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