The 2018 Appetite for Excellence winners were announced on Monday night at an awards ceremony hosted at Luke’s Kitchen in Sydney.
Now in its 13th year, the national awards program saw 26 finalists selected across the categories of Young Chef, Young Waiter and Young Restaurateur.
The 2018 judging panel included Luke Mangan (Luke’s Kitchen), Analiese Gregory (Franklin) Kylie Javier Ashton (Momofuku Seiobo), Peter Gilmore (Quay, Bennelong), Sam Christie (The Apollo, Cho Cho San), Duncan Welgemoed (Africola), Danielle Gjestland (Wasabi) and Lisa Van Haandel (Longrain, Longsong).
Max Sharrad (pictured) from Shobosho in South Australia was crowned the 2018 Young Chef of the Year, while Jessi McEwan of Hogget Kitchen in Victoria was named the one to watch.
Peter Gilmore presented the award and congratulated Sharrad on his win, saying the young chef blew the judges away.
“The competition was very tough this year,” he said. “But I think what Max did that really caught our imagination was his originality, his confidence with cooking and what he put on the plate.”
Accepting the win, Sharrad thanked the judges, sponsors and his fellow competitors. “This is why I signed up for this competition, to rub shoulders with you guys – it’s been amazing,” he said.
Tyler Austin (Stokehouse Q, Queensland) was named the 2018 Young Waiter of the Year, with Olivia Evans (Paper Daisy Restaurant, New South Wales) named the one to watch. The Young Restaurateur of the Year was awarded to Cam O’Keefe of Centra in Victoria.
This year, Appetite for Excellence teamed up with Perrier to launch a new spritz-making competition. Judged by Luke Ashton from This Must Be The Place, the inaugural winner was Sebastien Wattel from Bennelong Restaurant.
Newly appointed director of Appetite for Excellence and The Inspired Series Kylie Ball said her goal this year was to increase the number of applicants and encourage more female chefs to enter.
“I’m really pleased to advise that in 2018 applications were up by 25 per cent across the program and we had representation across the nation from six states and the ACT,” she said. “The number of female chefs that entered the program this year increased by 400 per cent.”
In 2018, Appetite for Excellence joined forces with The Inspired Series, a development program that enables students, apprentices and young hospitality workers to gain insight from some of the country’s top chefs, waiters and restaurateurs. This year’s finalists embarked on an all-expenses paid educational food and wine tour to South Australia.
Luke Mangan, who founded both the Appetite for Excellence and The Inspired Series programs, remarked at the standard of applicants for 2018.
“Once again, this year’s calibre of entrants has been nothing short of outstanding,” he said.
“The 2018 winners and runners-up of the awards represent some of this country’s finest hospitality talent and it’s my hope that the opportunities offered by this program help give them the tools to succeed and further their careers in our industry.”