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Chef of the Year finalists announced for the Brisbane Times 2017 Good Food Guide

Callan Boys
Callan Boys

The Brisbane Times 2017 Good Food Guide is set to be published on Tuesday July 19. Leading up to the Guide's release, Good Food is announcing the finalists for the year's major awards.

Today, we're very happy to announce the top five finalists for Citi Chef of the Year, an award to acknowledge those with the craft and skills to make a real difference to the way we dine now and in the future.

The winner will be announced at the Brisbane Times Good Food Guide Awards, presented by Citi and Vittoria, on Monday. You can follow all the night's action via Good Food's Instagram and Twitter accounts.

Good luck to all the finalists!

Alejandro Cancino, Urbane, Brisbane

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Urbane Group's food guru, Alejandro Cancino
Urbane Group's food guru, Alejandro CancinoSupplied

To maintain the level of fine dining quality that a two-hatted restaurant like Urbane requires takes considerable skill, creativity and tight focus. It's a high-wire act made even more impressive by Cancino who also helms the pans of Urbane's sister restaurant, The Euro, next door. The venues share a kitchen and the Argentinian-born chef makes lemonade of the situation by using all the parts of an animal across both restaurants, maximising taste and minimising waste. He also rocks a fine burger at Urbane Group's Laneway bar for good measure.

Josue Lopez, GOMA Restaurant, South Bank

Josue Lopez of GOMA Restaurant.
Josue Lopez of GOMA Restaurant.Harrison Saragossi

The El Salvador-born chef was named Citi Chef of the Year in the Brisbane Times 2016 Good Food Guide for his "insatiable desire to learn, razor-sharp focus and an instinctive grasp of technique". He hasn't lost that desire, focus and grasp one bit and rather than sit pretty on his laurels, Lopez continues to push himself in the kitchen, creating dishes that take inspiration from both the Queensland bush with native ingredients and proteins like emu and mutton, and GOMA's exhibitions (check out the plating of the dude's squab entree).

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Ben Russell, Aria, Brisbane

Aria Brisbane head chef, Ben Russell.
Aria Brisbane head chef, Ben Russell.Supplied

Matt Moran's name and noggin might be all over the Aria Brisbane website, but it's chef Ben Russell putting in the hard yards each week, delivering tightly composed dishes for a big night out or quick business lunch. Russell also goes beyond the call of kitchen duty and is head judge of the Young Chef of the Year award which acknowledges the rising stars of Queensland kitchens - skilled chefs with passion and drive, like Ben Russell himself.

Ryan Squires, Esquire, Brisbane

Ryan Squires, executive chef at Brisbane's Esquire restaurant.
Ryan Squires, executive chef at Brisbane's Esquire restaurant.Supplied
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The Esq. and Esquire chef gives a big bloody damn about where his produce comes from and treats it with all the respect it deserves. Grilling, smoking, pickling, drying, frying, baking and plating Australia's best seafood, meat and veg with intelligence and pared-back style. Bad news: Squires has announced he won't renew the three-hatted Esquire's Eagle Street Pier lease in in 2019. Good news: that's still three years away so you have plenty of time to experience the restaurant before then. (Plus whatever Squires does afterwards is sure to kick just as many delicious goals.)

Ben Williamson, Gerard's Bistro, Fortitude Valley

Gerard's Bistro head chef Ben Williamson at the Fortitude Valley restaurant.
Gerard's Bistro head chef Ben Williamson at the Fortitude Valley restaurant.Michelle Smith

Before Ben Williamson brought his Maghreb-inspired fare to James Street, Brisbane's smart-casual dining scene was happy to ho-hum along on the merits of river views and reasonably priced pasta. Williamson and Gerard's ushered in a new era of no-fuss eating where you could drop in for a glass of wine and a plate of food on par with most fine dining restaurants in town. The bloke's cooking has never been more en pointe, and kudos to projects like the Food Lab which gives other Gerard's chefs the opportunity to experiment and create. We can't wait to see what he does at The Apo.

The Brisbane Times Good Food Guide will be on sale for $9.99 in newsagents and bookstores from July 19, with all book purchases receiving free access to the new Good Food app.

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Callan BoysCallan Boys is editor of SMH Good Food Guide, restaurant critic for Good Weekend and Good Food writer.

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