I can only speak from experience on the A320 but in our company we had such a problem achieving the N1/EPR criteria at 1000ft that it was eventually changed to 500ft.
If it is critical that you have at least a certain N1 at a certain altitude then the quickest way to bring the power up on the engines is to go to selected speed and wind a few extra knots no. Once you've passed the gate simply return to managed speed, the power will tail off but should return by 500ft. That technique is realy no different to flying an approach with a strong gusty headwind.
The Captains actions of commanding flap 3 seems a bit bizarre to me. On an A320 it would change the managed speed target from Vapp to F speed which would command a power increase, but if your intention is to meet stabilised approach criteria then why destabilise the approach significantly by retracting Flap Full below 1000ft, especially when you are so close to Vls?
By far the best option for a quick response is to disconnect the A/THR and manually set the power, but we're banned fom doing that now in our outfit.
