ANSETT AUSTRALIA CHEF WINS GOLD, SILVER AND BRONZE

Ansett Australia National Co-ordinating Chef, Keerthi 'Happy' Hapugasdeniya, recently blitzed the competition at the Culinary Olympics held in Germany in October, winning three medals.

Representing Australia in the competition, Happy participated in a team of five. With up to 5,000 of the world's most accomplished chefs competing against each other in a range of culinary categories, the standard is extremely high.

Happy spent two years preparing for his events - the Buffet Centrepiece, Buffet Platter Appetisers and Special Diet Meals. The preparation paid off as Happy took Gold, Silver and Bronze in his events respectively.

The Culinary Olympics are held every four years with 2000 being its centennary. This was the second Olympics for Happy, whose medal wins are a personal best, after taking the silver in the Buffet Platter and Appetisers category in his first attempt in 1996.

As National Co-ordinating chef, Happy is responsible for overseeing the airline's domestic inflight cuisine including menu planning and development and staff training. Happy joined Ansett Australia in 1989.

Ansett Australia has been serving Asia since 1993. The airline currently operates flights between Australia and four international destinations:

Bali, Fiji, Hong Kong, and Osaka, including daily flights between Hong Kong and Sydney. Ansett Australia is wholly owned by Air New Zealand.