Leading New Zealand chefs and emerging culinary talent will gather in Auckland on October 21 for the Grand Final of Weave Cacao’s Mousse Masters, a national competition spotlighting creativity, craftsmanship, and the growing influence of Pacific cacao in the professional kitchen.
Hosted at Elemental Cooking School, the final brings together nine professional chefs and three promising young chefs from across Aotearoa to present their mousse-based creations to an esteemed judging panel.
Head judge is Peter Gordon, who also serves as the competition’s ambassador. Joining him are Amber Rose (food writer and author), Luke Owen Smith (chocolate expert and journalist), Oonagh Browne (Weave Cacao co-founder), and Sperian Kapaia, leader of Papua New Guinea’s Mupa community in East Sepik, where half of Weave Cacao’s beans are sourced.
Top Culinary Talent
Finalists include Ben Chapman (Embra), Robert Cullen (NZ International Convention Centre), Maxine Scheckter (Sugar Flour), and Cocoa Wild’s Head Chocolatier Shalvi Mohindra, among others. The standard of entries impressed the judging panel, particularly in the Promising Young Chef category, which drew outstanding submissions from students representing AUT, NZMA, Ara Institute, and Toi-Ohomai.
The stakes are high. The Pro Chef winner will join Peter Gordon and Oonagh Browne on a trip to Papua New Guinea, where they’ll connect with Weave Cacao’s farming communities and gain firsthand insight into the journey from tree to bean to couverture chocolate. The Promising Young Chef will receive 40kg of Weave Cacao couverture and a two-day cacao intensive training course in Christchurch.
Gordon says the competition celebrates both skill and cultural storytelling: “It’s an incredible line-up for the final, and I’m sure it’s going to be very hard to pick a winner. The key may lie in how well the recipes represent Pasifika culture – that’s the part I’m really looking forward to.”
Founded on principles of community and connection, Weave Cacao is believed to be the world’s first Pacific couverture chocolate, crafted in Papua New Guinea, and proudly integrates local growers into its supply chain.
For more information on the finalists and competition, visit weavecacao.com/mousse-masters-pro-chef-competition-2025