Queensland Chef of the Year finalists prepare to battle in Brisbane

Media release: Thursday 26 July 2018

Brisbane will welcome 28 of the Sunshine State’s hottest chefs for the inaugural Queensland Chef of the Year contest, to be held at Food & Hospitality Queensland 5-6 August.

Competition organiser Gary Farrell says the chefs were selected from a very high calibre of entrants. “The national competition is already well known, but this is the first time Queensland’s chefs have been able to compete for the title in their home state.”

The finalists come from all corners of the hospitality industry – demonstrating the breadth of talent and skills across the state.

“Queensland is well known for its excellent hotels and resorts and these are well represented by chefs such as Grant Parry from Videre at Royal Pines Resort, Yan Ng from W Hotel, Mohamed Abdell from Fitzroy Island Resort and Steven Forrester from The Star Gold Coast,” says Farrell.

“In addition, there are chefs with different daily challenges, such as Andrew McCrea, Executive Chef at Queensland Parliament; Danielle Dixon from the Institute of Culinary Excellence, Mike Kash from St Stephens Hospital; Wayne Ryan, Head Chef at Aveo Newstead retirement village; Daniel Lazaroo from Club Southside and Mathew Lee from Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre.”

While some of the competitors are Brisbane locals, many are travelling from all over the state, including Shannon Strange from Bayswater Bar & Grill Hervey Bay, Byrion Martin from Barron Freshwater in Cairns, Mark Paul Pedroche from the Royal George Hotel Nambour and Ronald Gabriel from the Grand Hotel Monto.

The judging panel will be headed up by Karen Doyle, a seasoned culinary judge who is also Program Manager at Le Cordon Bleu Australia. She will be assisted by Paul Rifkin and Shane Keighley. Peter Howard AM, one of Australia’s original celebrity chefs, will be the MC.

Farrell comments that the competition is a great leveller, as each chef is working with the same protein cuts to create an entrée and a main in one hour. Judges will give a score based on taste, presentation, technique and kitchen skills, and the four highest-scoring finalists will compete in a Grand Final on Monday.

“In the heats, finalists can look forward to working with centre-cut pork belly and pork tenderloin, plus they have a good selection of fruit and vegetables and access to a well-stocked pantry,” he says. “For the Grand Final, they will be working solely from a mystery box, which is always a great test for any chef.”

The competition is proudly sponsored by Australian Pork and Unox, with additional professional kitchen equipment supplied by Robot Coupe. Uniforms will be provided by Reward Hospitality, Chef Works and Shoes for Crews, while Winterhalter is supplying washing equipment.

“I encourage all chefs to come along and watch the action,” says Farrell. “It’s a perfect opportunity to get new ideas for ingredients and techniques, and to experience first-hand the sheer culinary talent Queensland has to offer.”

Food & Hospitality Queensland is a brand new show for the food retail, restaurant and catering industry. There will be over 150 exhibitors, plus free workshops at the Café School.

Entry is free if you work in the hospitality industry and pre-register online, go to www.foodandhospitality.com.au

Finalists:

Mohamed Abdell Executive Chef, Fitzroy Island Resort, Fitzroy Island

Kim Bamborough Head Chef, Swae & Ivy, Ayr

Kylee Bennet Head Chef, Fuel & Co, Nundah

Julio Bonilla Ortiz Sous Chef, The Moreton Club, New Farm

Andy Bowden Executive Chef/Owner, All Styles Catering, Brisbane

Danielle Dixon Executive Chef, Institute of Culinary Excellence, Coorparoo

Daniel Dyson Head Chef, Extraction Artisan Coffee, Slacks Creek

Steven Forrester Executive Sous Chef, The Star, Gold Coast

Ken Fuller Head Chef, Sandgate Post Office Hotel, Sandgate

Ronald Gabriel Head Chef, Grand Hotel Monto, Monto

Dayan Hartill-Law Chef de Partie, The Sovereign Room, Broadbeach

Kyran Henry Head Chef, Beyond the Pale, Coorparoo

Marcus Hillier Sous Chef, Factory 51, Coorparoo

Mike Kash Head Chef, St Stephens Hospital, Hervey Bay

Daniel Lazaroo Executive Chef, Club Southside, Upper Mount Gravatt

Mathew Lee Sous Chef, Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre

Ungki Lee Sous Chef, The Pier, Hope Island

Norbert Marczinek Sous Chef, Beachside Pavilion, Broadbeach

Byrion Martin Head Chef, Barrons Freshwater, Cairns

Andrew McCrea Executive Chef, Queensland Parliament, Brisbane

Cody McKavanagh Head Chef, Old Tom Restaurant & Bar, Broadbeach

Yan Ng Chef, W Hotel, Brisbane

Thomas Noon Head chef, 5 Boroughs, Ascot

Grant Parry Chef De Cuisine, Videre, Royal Pines Resort, Benowa

Mark Paul Pedroche Head Chef, Royal George Hotel, Nambour

Wayne Ryan Head Chef, Aveo Newstead, Newstead

Jordan Staniford Head Chef, The Kenmore Tavern, Kenmore

Shannon Strange Head Chef, The Bayswater Bar & Grill, Hervey Bay

[ENDS]

Media Contact:

Kirsty Hunt

M 0419 525 796

E kirsty@specialisedevents.com.au