Chef of the Year
Watch Australia's hottest chefs compete!
Entries for 2024 are now closed.
Chef of the Year is the most prestigious chef competition in Australia. Watch Australia's hottest chefs compete in the Chef of the Year competition at Foodservice Australia 19 - 21 May 2024 at the ICC Sydney in Darling Harbour.
This event will see chef compete against chef and the clock in a test of creativity, culinary knowledge and ingenuity. The chosen 32 finalists will have one hour to prepare 2 dishes from a mystery box of ingredients and will be scored by a team of respected industry judges.
Every competitor will receive a certificate, chef jacket and sponsored products. The winners will share in over $10,000 cash and valuable prizes.
Entries for 2024 have now closed. Check back later this year for entries to the 2025 competition.
The 2024 Finalists:
Jessica Roe
Sous Chef, Bistro Guillaume
Burswood, WA
Steve Gleeson
Executive Chef, Art Gallery of NSW
Domaine, NSW
Evan Burrows
Area Chef, Australian Venue Co
Southbank, VIC
Paul Gregoraci
Sous Chef, Bago Tavern
Wauchope, NSW
Liam Brnic
Chef, Crown Perth
Burswood, WA
Tommy Prosser
Owner, Crustacean Nation
Eveleigh, NSW
Oliver Garrioch
Chef de Partie, Cumulus Inc
Melbourne, VIC
Moonrat Chowdhury
Executive Chef, Dolton House
Pyrmont, NSW
Sean Cameron
Head Chef, Elsewhere at SAM
Shepparton, VIC
Jack Basoff
Junior Sous Chef, Fullerton Hotel
Sydney, NSW
Kieran Curtis
Head Chef, Funk Drinks Co.
Henley Brook,WA
Nicolas Liglet
Executive Chef, Harbour View Hotel
Dawes Point, NSW
Jalen Santos
Chef, Major Mitchell Café
Carnegie, VIC
Michélle Van Sittert
Function Chef, Mali Brae Farm
Moss Vale, NSW
Nicola Ronconi
Executive Chef, Nico
Cammeray, NSW
Dayan Hartill-Law
Executive Chef, Palette
Surfers Paradise, QLD
Nikhil Desai
Sous Chef, Park Hyatt
Melbourne, VIC
Rich Bihag
Sous Chef, Polish Club Ashfield
Ashfield, NSW
Sam Smith
Head Chef, Ponte Bar & Dining
Nowra, NSW
Linney Breytenbach
Head Chef, Private Chef
Frankland River, WA
Dinesh Silwal
Chef, Rockpool Bar & Grill
Southbank, VIC
Dino Ng
Executive Sous Chef, Rydges Southbank
South Brisbane, QLD
Haoran Shen
Senior Head Chef, St Vincents Care Services
Hawthorn East, VIC
LeeAnne Mohr
Head Chef, Surfair Beach Hotel
Marcoola, QLD
Lucas Doan
Executive Chef, The D's Bar & Dining
Marrickville, NSW
Tan Minh Tran
Chef de Partie, The George Hotel
Bathurst, NSW
Grant Parry
Head Chef, The Star
Broadbeach, QLD
Allen Varghese
Chef De Cuisine, TWR
Barangaroo, NSW
Luke Stephens
Executive Chef, Uniting Aged Care
NSW
Travis Crane
Head Chef, Voyager Estate
Margaret River, WA
Matthew Kennedy
Executive Chef, Mr Miyagi
Windsor, VIC
Harrison Duncan
Sous Chef, BTWN @ W Hotel
Sydney, NSW
2024 Judges:
John McFadden
Claire Van Vuuren
Bloodwood
Amanda Fuller
Sam Prince Hospitality Group
Jamie Gannon
Laundy Hotels
Simon Sandall
Boronia Kitchen
Darren Templeman
Izy.aki
Justin North
Concept Hospitality
George Calombaris
Hellenic House Project
2024 MCs:
Glenn Flood
Leadership Trainer
Tawnya Bahr
Straight to the Source
Competition Director
Peter Wright
Global Hospitality Group
Previous winners of Chef of the Year
2010: John Lanzafame, Hugo’s (NSW)
2011: Nicolas Poelaert, Embrasse (VIC)
2012: Neil Abrahams, Royal Canberra Golf Club (ACT)
2013: Neil Abrahams, Royal Canberra Golf Club (ACT)
2014: Matthew McCool, Altitude (NSW)
2015: Chris Malone, Balthazar (WA)
2016: Matt Weller, Royal Canberra Golf Club (ACT)
2017: Michael Cole, Georgie Bass (VIC)
2018: Jack Lee, Bean Smuggler (VIC)
2019: Michael Cole, Georgie Bass (VIC)
2021: Andrew Ballard, Simmer Catering (VIC)
2022: Konstantin Putkin, The Boatyard (TAS)
2023: Tom Hitchcock, The Spirit House (QLD)
Sponsored by:
