Chef of the Year
Watch Australia's hottest chefs compete!
Chef of the Year is the most prestigious chef competition in Australia. This year it ran in Sydney from 19-21 May as part of the huge Foodservice Australia trade exhibition.
Chefs are given one hour and a mystery box of ingredients. They compete against each other and the clock to present the best dishes. If successful they go through to the next round. There are over $25,000 in cash and prizes to be won.
This year the winner was Tommy Prosser from Crustacean Nation in Sydney. The other Grand Finalists were Sam Smith from Ponte Bar & Dining, Sean Cameron from Elsewhere at Sam and Oliver Garrioch from Cumulus Inc.
Proudly presented by Unox, Bidfood and Anchor Food Professionals. Additional support from Alsco Uniforms, Oil2U, Bone Roasters, Love Buds, Glad to be Green and ICC Sydney.
Next year the competition will run in Melbourne from 18-20 May 2025. Entries will open soon.
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
Peter Sheldon
Executive chef, The European
Melbourne, VIC
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
Paolo Lagniton
Senior Sous Chef, Royal Sydney Golf Cub
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)
2024: Tommy Prosser, Crustacean Nation (NSW)
Sponsors:
