The Appetite for Excellence program has announced its Young Chef finalists for 2017.
Now in its 12th year, the annual Appetite for Excellence program is broken up into three categories: Young Chef, Young Restaurateur and Young Waiter. It gives participants the opportunity to take part in educational masterclasses, produce tours and industry networking events, before a winner in each category is announced.
Finalists will be mentored by some of the industry’s most well regarded members, with judges including Peter Gilmore, Christine Manfield, Nick Hildebrandt, Dave Pynt, Sam Christie and Lisa van Haandel.
The Appetite for Excellence Young Chef finalists will come together in Sydney next week to meet the category’s judges and have one of their dishes critiqued and to gain feedback and tops from chefs including Burnt Ends’ David Pynt, Africola’s Duncan Welgemoed, est. Restaurant’s Peter Doyle, Stokehouse’s Richard Ousby & Muse Restaurant’s Troy Rhoades-Brown.
The 2017 Electrolux Australian Young Chef finalists are:
- Adrian Hart – Bennelong, NSW
- Alanna Sapwell – Saint Peter, NSW
- Alicia Englefield – InterContinental, SA
- Anthony Hales – Thomson’s Reserve, QLD
- Ben McShane – Kiyomi, The Star, QLD
- Ben Thies – Clarke’s of North Beach, WA
- Brendan Anderson – Stokehouse, VIC
- Cameron Tabe – Hardy’s Verandah Restaurant, SA
- Charley Snadden-Wilson – Embla, VIC
- Clement Vachon – Wasabi Restaurant & Bar, QLD
- Daniel Cooper – Garden State Hotel VIC
- Daniel Garwood – Sixpenny, NSW
- Daniel Murphy – St Hugo, SA
- Daniel Plain – Longyard Hotel, NSW
- Elliot Platz – Homage Restaurant, QLD
- Floyd Armstrong – East Bar and Dining, VIC
- Jonathon Outred – Tickety Boo, WA
- Josh Raine – Urbane, QLD
- Khanh Nguyen – Cirrus Dining, NSW
- Matthew Lee – Cutty Sark Bar & Restaurant, QLD
- Matthew Bugeja – The Dolphin Hotel, NSW
- Matthew Hammond – Woodland House, VIC
- Matthieu Miller – Terrace Restaurant, VIC
- Mehrish Malik – Tonka, VIC
- Minho Han – Appellation, SA
- Ryan Dolan – La Fettuccina, QLD
- Shui Ishizaka – Bennelong Restaurant, NSW
- Thomas Gorringe – The Gantry Restaurant, NSW
- Tim Goegan – Supernormal, VIC
- Timothy Chittenden – Georgie Bass Café & Cookery, VIC
- Tom Jack – Coast Restaurant, QLD
The Young Waiter state finalists and Young Restaurateur national finalists will be revealed next week.
In 2016, the Young Waiter of the Year award was presented to Andrew Day from Akiba in Canberra, Cameron Cansdell from Bombini in Avoca took home the Young Restaurateur of the Year award and the Young Chef title went to Aaron Ward from Sydney’s Sixpenny (pictured above L-R).
