Chef Fregz on what wins finals

We sat down with Chef Fregz ahead of the Varsity Cook grand finale to find out what actually moves the needle on the judges' scoresheet.

“Seasoning is the first thing I taste,” he says. “If your salt is off, nothing else matters. I'd rather a simple plate that's properly seasoned than a complicated one that isn't.”

On presentation: he warns against over-styling. “Wipe the rim. Don't crowd the plate. Pick one hero element and let it breathe.”

His advice for finalists? “Cook something your grandmother would recognise — then sharpen it. Familiar flavours, executed at a higher level, win every time.”