The RCH Cardiac Surgery team was honoured to have the very best judge for their Great Pavlova Competition grand final this morning – renowned Australian cook, retaurateur and food writer Stephanie Alexander.

The competition was the brainchild of Cardiac Surgery Director, Christian Brizard.  Since January, one contender (surgeons, nurses, perfusionists, anaesthetists and administration staff) per week baked a pavlova for tasting by their colleagues.

Each pav was marked according to three categories: flavour, creativity and sheer beauty. The top six earned places in the grand final.

This morning’s grand final saw the six finalists bake their pavlovas once more for tasting by master judge Stephanie.  And the stakes were high – all cooks vying for the revered title of “Great Pavlova Champion”.

Stephanie scrutinised each pavlova thoroughly.  She sliced, prodded and sampled the cakes, looking for “maximum marshmallow”.

Finally, Stephanie declared one team member the winner: senior cardiac surgery fellow Johann Brink.  Johann’s impressive double-meringue pavlova was made from 15 egg whites and flavoured with vanilla bean.  Proving cardiac surgeons don’t do things by halves, Johann topped his pavlova with a toffee butterfly, homemade with the help of a candy themometer and syringes.

He admitted he’d only baked two decent pavlovas in his lifetime, both for this competition.  After failing on many attempts, he consulted YouTube before taking his tuition to the next level.

“I’d heard of a famous meringue specialist in Warrandyte.  I spent a whole Sunday with her learning how to bake meringues.  I call her my ‘meringue mentor’,” Johann said.

RCH CEO Professor Christine Kilpatrick applauded staff initiatives like this competition for contributing to a high level of camaraderie both within hospital departments and across the organisation.

First Place: Johann Brink, Senior Fellow Cardiac Surgery
Second Place: Suzanna Kralevski, Cardiac Surgery Manager
Equal Third Place: Margaret Sullivan, nurse; Alison Horton, perfusionist; and Ben Turner, anaesthetist
Fourth Place: Christian Brizard, Director Cardiac Surgery

Right: Stephanie Alexander judges The Great Cardiac Surgery Pavlova Competition before crowning senior cardiac surgery fellow Johann Brink the winner