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Lexus Young Chef of the Year Awards 2008


Being a chef is a tough career path for a young 'un. The hours are long, the work is brutally physical and, while it's not fair to say that every head chef's a tyrant, the heat of the kitchen does tend to prompt the odd Gordon Ramsay or Marco Pierre White moment. Chefs Luke Mangan and Lucy Allon recognised that rising through the ranks of the kitchen is akin to a baptism by fire and so founded the Lexus Awards in 2005 as a way to encourage young chefs.

The Lexus Awards offer a pretty serious incentive for applicants to keep their aprons on, with the prize including work experience at Michelin-starred restaurant Tom Aikens in London and at Salt in Tokyo, a tour of the Champagne region, $2500 in cash and the chance to represent their country at the S. Pellegrino Cooking Cup in Venice in 2009. The finalists for 2008 are:

1
 
Bistrode CBD
Sydney
Sarah Knights: though, like most of the applicants, Knights is keen to eventually own her own restaurant, she also has admirable intentions of passing on the knowledge that she is gaining through Bistro CBD and eventually mentoring other young chefs.

2
 
Circa, the Prince
St Kilda
Jake Nicolson: this promising young chef is a greenie at heart, considering the environmental impact of his cooking as well as the flavours. He looks forward to working more with organic, biodynamic and local produce in his career.

3
 
Urbane
Brisbane
Ben Devlin: the Lexus Awards prize would be priceless for Devlin, who hopes to gain as much experience as possible with the big-name chefs, with the goal of creating his own "truly world-class restaurant".

4
 
Gershwin's
Perth
Robert Withnall: this young chef has a hunger for knowledge, wanting to explore cooking techniques from across the globe. Though he hopes to travel the world, learning from the kitchen masters, his work at international hotel the Hyatt Regency is a good start.

5
 
Smolt
Hobart
Scott Heffernan: at 30 years old, Heffernan has the advantage of age, but it's his personal drive and high standards that have brought him this far in the competition. He hopes to open a business "that is known for quality and integrity".

6
 
Enoteca
Adelaide
Rebecca Stubbs: size doesn't matter to this idealistic chef. Stubbs' long-term goal is to open a boutique restaurant that operates from its own kitchen garden and from other local sustainable producers.