NZ Army chef cooking up a storm in the United States

The latest was a trip to Washington DC to cater an exclusive event.

Sergeant Emmett recently returned from a deployment to the United States’ capital, where she and fellow chef Sergeant Tyrone Broad catered a reception at the New Zealand Embassy, hosted by the New Zealand Diplomatic Service (NZDS).

They were joined by two members of the Army’s Māori Cultural Group, Sergeant Tara Oldehaver and Captain Tipene Lee, who performed with NZDS staff in a pōwhiri, two haka and a waiata.  

Sergeants Emmett and Broad prepared a Kiwiana-style feast for about 300 guests, which included lamb chops, fish and chips and pavlova.

“In the lead-up to the event we were spending 12-hour days preparing the food,” Sergeant Emmett said.

“Afterwards we went out and everyone flocked to us to tell us how amazing it all was.”

While in Washington, Sergeant Emmet had some time to explore and soak in the city’s history and see the famed monuments on the National Mall. 

“When I was asked to do the task I became a bit emotional - I really worked hard to get an opportunity like this and I was lucky to receive it.” 

Joining the NZ Army in 2011 made sense to Sergeant Emmett; she loved playing sports, being part of a team and being a leader.

“My mum was a huge advocate for the Army. She said ‘you get all these benefits and you want to see the world, I think this is definitely something for you to do’. 

“When I got into the organisation I just tried to take in every opportunity there was.”

While Sergeant Emmett hasn’t had many overseas deployments as a chef, being in the NZ Army has provided other international opportunities.

“I went to the Somme and Messines at the First World War centenary commemorations as part of the catafalque guard, I've catered deployments in Tonga and I've been to Sydney for the Anzac 100 year anniversary. But this trip tops all of those.”