Don’t miss the action at the Seafood ITO National Fish Filleting Champs

Speed, precision, efficiency.  No, we’re not talking about elite sports people – but the person who wins the first Seafood ITO National Filleting Championship will have to display all of these things.

The New Zealand Seafood Industry Training Organisation (Seafood ITO) is proud to be the major sponsor behind the competition.  The Seafood ITO provides training within the seafood industry so that employers and employees can plan for a better future.

Seafood ITO general manager, Rolly Raureti says the competition will give New Zealand’s best fish filleters the chance to earn national bragging rights.  “Every fish factory in the country will have someone who is the best filleter.  Now they have an opportunity to put their claims to the test against the rest and find out who’s the best in the country.”

The previous national filleting competition, called the Golden Knife, hasn’t been contested since the mid 1980s.  The competition’s revival gives keen filleters the chance to “write their names into the record books,” Mr Raureti said.

Aside from national bragging rights the champion will be the first to receive the Golden Knife trophy, which was carved especially for the competition.

Around 14 of New Zealand’s top filleters will be battling it out for the national title at this year’s Auckland Seafood Festival.  Don’t miss the action from 2.30pm Monday on the “Are you Game” stage at the Festival.  The fish fillets resulting from the competition will be auctioned to the audience, with the proceeds going to Rotary and the Stellar Trust.

Next year, the organisers hope to include a ‘slice off’  with the New Zealand champion going head to head with the current Australian filleting champ.  It could get dicey, says Raureti, but the Kiwis will be up for the challenge.