Ravi Nyayapati – 
After a weekend of intense competition at the NZ Culinary Fare, NZ Chefs National Salon announced that 25-year-old Aucklander Himanshu Tyagi as the ‘New Zealand Chef of the Year 2015.’
Himanshu, also known as ‘Shaun’ took out the prestigious award with his entries in the Seafood platter and the entree, main and dessert categories.
Shaun works at Chikos Restaurant & Cafe in Henderson, West Auckland.
The Competition took away all his spare time for the past two months, making him work tirelessly in his spare time.
He is therefore justifiably proud of his achievements.
Originally from a small village in Delhi, India, Shaun came to New Zealand in 2011 to complete his chef training.
When asked what inspired him to train as a chef, Shaun was not sure, but admitted that he always liked food, although before coming to New Zealand he had never seen or heard of many of the foods he now works with.
Shaun now loves the role of a Chef and thinks feeding others is a real privilege.
He is thankful to his many mentors, including, Andrew McGregor, Olivier Schirm, Grant Kitchen and most recently Chikos head chef and owner Roberto Manuel, a multi award-winning chef himself with vast international experience.
Shaun wants to keep learning about international food culture and plans to continue competing in culinary competitions.
He dreams of representing New Zealand at an international level and believes that working with a calm and peaceful mind is key to success.
Photo :
Himanshu Tyagi with Brian Davies, National Sales Manager, Moffat
