How it began
The Culinary Arts Development Trust (CADT) is a non-profit charitable trust formed in January 2015 by Cherie Freeman, Glenn Fulcher and Pip Duncan, industry professionals who wanted to help expand the hospitality industry through competitions, events and community activities.
The CADT promotes the culinary arts in New Zealand as a career option for young school leavers interested in developing their professional experience through culinary competitions. The CADT encourages, fosters and oversees New Zealand culinary talent and the creation of relationships within the industry, with an overall awareness on healthy eating and sustainability.
Our People:
Glenn Fulcher - Executive Trustee:
Glenn has been involved in the industry for 25 plus years, as a Chef, Tertiary tutor and Head of School - Tourism, Retail and Hospitality at EIT. He said creating the Trust was a way of enabling different businesses to support the growth of the hospitality industry by engaging the next generation of superstars in competitions.
Although not working directly in the industry any longer, Glenn continues to act as one of the CADT Trustees. He is currently the Owner of Direct Furniture Outlet in Napier, but he still has his finger on the pulse to make sure that the CADT stays true to its founding values
Mark Wylie - Executive Trustee
Mark is an NZ Army-trained chef who completed his training at AUT after his various army postings. He has worked in kitchens both in NZ and internationally. He is also a level 5 qualified judge and has extensive competition experience.
Mark has a passion for the development of the culinary arts within New Zealand and continues to be part of fostering students into the industry. He is currently the Managing Director at Cater Plus, but is always on hand should we need his expertise.
Organising Committee - The Engine behind our Regional Online and live
National Final
Renny Aprea - Chief Judge
Renny has many years of experience working as a Culinary Arts and Patisserie professional. He also has a wealth of experience judging competitions both in New Zealand and Internationally.
He spent a good 25 years sharing his knowledge and skills as the Senior Patisserie Lecturer at AUT. Renny is well known and respected for his extensive mentoring of students from those still at schools to those working as chefs in industry. He has a great passion for promoting the culinary arts as a career choice so fits perfectly with the ethos of the NSSCC competition.
Angie Wilson- School Liaison
Angie has worked for over 30 years in both secondary and tertiary education, teaching, training and mentoring young prospective chefs. She has been involved with competitions with great success for many years at regional, national and international levels. She has continued to mentor secondary school students in competitions beyond their secondary school experiences.
Although not full-time in schools any longer, Angie acts as our Schools Liaison for the CADT.
Craig Lucas - Tertiary Liaison
Craig is a very self-motivated and driven individual who is passionate about assisting aspiring young chefs to succeed. Offering up opportunities such as the NSSCC opens their eyes to the competition space within the industry and is a great avenue in which to stand out from the crowd. His philosophy on food is that one must develop a sound knowledge base in basic cooking skills in order to present a dish to a customer that reflects the genuine skill and effort put into it. Craig has been a part of the NSSCC for a long time and has been a culinary lecturer for eighteen years at Manukau Institute of Technology. He currently holds the role of Head of School and continues to embrace the competition and push it to new heights.
Jacob Lucas - Media
Jacob is a designer and developer working alongside Renny, Angie and Craig for NSSCC 2025 to help rebuild the current website, social media and creative presence that NSSCC has now and will have in the future.