2026 SECONDARY SCHOOLS CULINARY CHALLENGE
In 2026 the ACF will be running Secondary School Culinary Competitions in all Regions. This competition is designed to establish and develop links between school and industry in an effort to encourage more students to enter the commercial cookery industry. The Secondary Schools Culinary Competition is for year 10 -12 students studying Commercial Cookery, Hospitality, Food Technology or Home Economics at high school.
2026 will see the introduction of a Dessert competition as well as the original Main Course competition
There will be 2 winning teams in each region & the National Final.
The 2026 Final will be held Venue & date TBC
regional finals
skills, grow, connect
join a rewarding industry
The forms below can be used to register for all of the competitions listed on this page, Registration this year is via an online form that you will be required to upload the following documents to complete the submission, Team Details Form, Photo ID for Teachers & Students, Payment receipt.
The Criteria and About will be a PDF, Rego is link to online form, Team Details & Templates will download to your computer as word documents when you click on them, so make sure you note where they are saved to. Please only type information required
If you have any issues with downloading the word documents
please contact your region convenor & they will send the documents to you.
About
Criteria
Registration
Team Details
past highlights
Regional Finals
Each year the Australian Culinary Federation (ACF) conducts a cooking competition for Secondary School Students in each Australian state. This competition is a great opportunity for students with an interest in becoming a chef to gain invaluable contacts within the hospitality industry. It is also a lot of fun, and a great learning experience for staff and students alike. The aim of this competition is to give students an insight into the hospitality industry and to identify and encourage students who demonstrate a talent and a passion for cooking.
If you are in years 10, 11 or 12, enrolled in a Secondary School and are studying either a Hospitality, Food Technology, Home Economics or Commercial Cookery course, then you are eligible to enter your state competition. The winners of each State competitions will be eligible to compete in the National Final.
Main Course Competition
Each team must prepare, cook and display a main course for two people on two separate plates within a time limit of 1 hour. They will have 30 minutes to set up (in which time a briefing will be held) prior to the competition starting, and 30 minutes to clean up after the competition
Dessert Competition
Each team must prepare, cook and display a dessert course for two people on two separate plates within a time limit of 90 minutes. They will have 30 minutes to set up (in which time a briefing will be held) prior to the competition starting, and 30 minutes to clean up after the competition
Please contact your Competition Convenor listed below for more information about your regional competition.
Region Dates 2026
New South Wales
William Angliss Institute, 11 Bowden St, Alexandria, 2015.
Convenor Julio Azzarello 0413 588 366
Tasmania Tuesday
Convenor Michael Norton 0448 807 302
South Queensland
TAFE Queensland Southbank, 66 Ernst Street, South Brisbane, 4101.
Convenor Danny Ward 0412 388 116
South Australia Tuesday 23th June
TAFE SA Regency Campus, 137 Days Rd, Regency Park, 5010.
Convenor Chris Codell 0408 857 293
ACT
Canberra Institute of Technology Woden, Callum Street, Phillip, 2606.
Convenor Ivonne Nathan 0409 260 372
Victoria
Convenor Andrew Wisken 0407 848 931
Northern Territory
Convenor David Brown 0438 431 750
North Queensland TBC
Western Australia
Competition Venue TBC
Convenor Cath MacDougall
0409 970 070