In just a few weeks Melbourne will welcome 32 of the best professional chefs from around Australia to compete in the prestigious Chef of the Year competition. It runs at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre from the 30th of April until the 2nd of May alongside the huge Foodservice Australia expo.
Competition Director Peter Wright said the vast number of entries from senior chefs demonstrates this title has become one of the most sought-after in the Australian culinary world. With $10,000 cash and valuable prizes up for grabs, it is also one of Australia’s richest competitions for chefs.
Wright said that the competition is a real pressure test.
“Chefs compete against the clock and each other to produce their two best dishes using featured ingredients, all in front of a live audience. You have to be calm, clean and in control. Sometimes the best dishes are also the simplest ones, which allow the produce to shine,” noted Wright.
The winner from last year, Konstantin Putkin from The Virgin Kitchen in Hepburn, will be back to defend his title. He will be up against a number of previous finalists, including Kimberley Fitzpatrick from the Sebel in Yarrawonga, Dino Ng from the W Hotel in Brisbane, Tommy Prosser from Hospitality Works and Jack Lee from Nook Dining in Point Cook who won the crown back in 2017.
Chefs competing for the first time this year include Wing Hung from doot doot doot, Davide Amato from Loti, Saugat Shrestha from Esca Bimbadgen, Henriette Jensen from Pinelli Estate Winery, Michael Hutchings from The Cottom Club, Karl Nicholson from Nomadical and Christin Dynia from The Conservatory.
Also for the first time, there will be three chefs competing from the healthcare sector. They are David Martin from St Vincents Care, Kuke Stephens from Uniting Care and Andrew Wisken from Warringal Private Hospital.
“This really shows how far this style of catering has advanced in the last five years,” said Wright.
Head Judge John McFadden leads a team of highly experienced judges including chefs Mark Normoyle, Telina Menzies, Gary Johnson, Jenna Louise Cunningham, Beth Candy, Scott Pickett, Jerry Mai, George Colombaris and Andrew Ballard. Popular food personalities Glenn Flood and Tawnya Bahr will be MCs for the event.
