Sammuel Lee, age 23, and Eve Sheraton, age 19, went hat to hat at TAFE‘s South Bank campus on Saturday 2 June in the 2018 Nestlé Golden Chef’s Hat Award, with both chefs taking home gold medals. The pair have secured themselves a trip to Melbourne this September, where they will battle it out in the national final at Fine Food Australia, where this year’s national champions will be awarded a culinary trip to Italy.
The Brisbane Club chefs, who were also finalists last year, said they were pleased with their efforts on the day. “Everything ran really smoothly and we’re really happy to walk away with a gold medal. It’s a strong start and we’re looking forward to the finals in Melbourne,” Sammuel said. “Kitchens are tough environments, but if you believe in yourself and have confidence, you can go far.”
The Brisbane cook-off saw 10 pairs step up to the plate, going all out to create their best dishes on the day. Sammuel and Eve created a two-course menu of hanger steak with roasted baby fennel, turned carrots, beans, smoked potato puree and caponata cabbage ball for the main and a vanilla mousse with hazelnut praline, dark chocolate, strawberry and lemon for their dessert course.
Executive Chef at Nestlé Professional Mark Clayton says “a successful cook-off is teams that go out there and put 100 per cent into what they’re doing. It’s not always about winning. The Nestlé Golden Chef’s Hat Award exists to support the professional development of young chefs and being judged on your culinary skills is critical to this. For me, it’s about pushing yourself to become a better chef and committing to your culinary journey.”
The Nestlé Golden Chef’s Hat Award offers the next generation of young chef talent a platform to connect with their peers, learn new skills, create amazing dishes, and experience new opportunities to advance their culinary careers.
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