Senior MasterChef Challenge 2017 – Vasey Brighton East Takes Home the Trophy

The team from Vasey RSL Care - Vasey Brighton East took home the trophy in the 2017 Senior MasterChef Challenge. 

Christmas in July was this year’s theme, and room at Frankston RSL was decorated with reindeer and festive table settings, with teams adding to the colour with their beautiful Christmas costumes.

“The standard of contest entries just keeps rising,” said Janna Voloshin, CEO. “I am so impressed with how professional they look.”

The Catering Corps from HMAS Cerberus provided the judging panel this year. Sergeant Margarita Obien, Army (below right), Sergeant Rick Fenn, Navy (below second from left) and Sergeant David Talbot, Air Force (far left) had the enjoyable but difficult task of assessing the entries.

Marks are awarded for three categories: the 10-minute presentation that the team gives, the physical display of the entry, and finally, sampling the entries – smelling, tasting, checking the texture and consistency and flavours.

Attendees were entertained with delightful presentations, with ANZAC Hostel running a competition to make a mini version of their Chocolate Christmas Tree; Sir William Hall Hostel giving the story of waking Santa up and asking him to come to the event; RSL Park played an interview of one of their residents talking about her 60-year-old Christmas Cake recipe; Vasey House’s entire team were dressed as Christmas elves plus Santa and Mrs Santa; and Vasey Brighton East residents and volunteers spoke about their memories of Christmas.

Of course, everyone wants to taste the entries and CEO, Janna Voloshin, led the cake-cutting so that everyone present could taste a little piece of each.

But of course, it is the judges who determine the winner, and they concluded that this year’s deserving winners were Vasey Brighton East, for their delicious Christmas pudding with custard and a side order of ‘white Christmas’, accompanied by a beautifully displayed book of the Christmas memories of their residents and a presentation from their residents and volunteers.

Find out more about Vasey RSL Care.