The Good Food Guide 2018 Restaurant of the Year finalists are...

• Meet the Good Food Guide 2018 Citi Chef of the Year finalists

Ask any young chef where they see themselves in 10 years and many will tell you, "Running my own restaurant." The reality of that kind of undertaking can come as a shock – especially for someone who has not run their own business before. So what makes a chef risk the comfort of a salary and guaranteed work hours for the relatively unknown? And is it worth it?

"I haven't met a single chef who started their own business and had it turn out exactly as expected," says Daniel Puskas, owner-chef of Sixpenny, in Sydney's Stanmore. "But that is part of the experience, to learn new skills like building, accounting and people management. It keeps you grounded and on your toes at the same time. [Your first restaurant] might not be the fanciest place, but knowing that you built it from scratch and seeing where it takes you gives you a satisfaction that is worth sacrificing a little comfort."

To create a restaurant and achieve success is not only an immense amount of pressure but also a large financial outlay. The reality of going into business for yourself is the need to know every aspect of running a restaurant from back to front. Being able to cook, it turns out, isn't enough – you also need to be able to run plates to a table, empty a grease trap, launder napkins and balance the books.

There's no denying that working for someone else is a far easier option, and one that more and more chefs are choosing to take.

"It gives you more time to focus on your cooking, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's probably smart," says Puskas.

And certainly, going it alone is a tough path. "It's a big risk and commitment, financially and socially," says Puskas. "I was lucky to open Sixpenny with [ex-business partner] James Parry. We shared the stress and hardships of the new business and thanks to that I feel much more confident now."

Ben Shewry, whose Melbourne restaurant currently holds three hats, believes there's great reward with the great risk of being an owner-operator. And that comes down to not being answerable to anyone else.

"I am more in love with the act of running a restaurant and being a cook than I ever have been," he told Good Food earlier this year. "Not having to ask when you want to do something, having complete creative control. And hopefully in the long term you earn a wage that is reflective of your time and your talent and your standing in the industry. That's the goal. And that is fair."

Vittoria Coffee Restaurant of the Year finalists

These restaurants are small, singular and owned by some of the most exciting chefs in the country. On Monday night, one of these restaurants will take home the gong at the inaugural national Good Food Guide Awards.

Attica, Melbourne

​It's been a long time coming, but Ben Shewry finally has the Attica he always wanted. Scratch that. It's the Attica we've always wanted. Well-paced. Fun. Exciting. Narrative, but not hand-wringingly so. Kick off with a series of little snacks from strips of wagyu threaded onto a polished shin bone (there's an opportunity for The Story of Ripponlea in scrimshaw here, surely) dusted in salted macadamia to the world's most elegant smashed avocado on toast.

Brae, Birregurra, Victoria

​When Dan Hunter took over this Otways hinterland property in 2013, he inherited a simple cottage with a brick oven and a kitchen garden. He has added luxurious accommodation, beehives, chickens and many more garden beds. But the renovated farmhouse and wood oven – lit daily to bake Brae's densely crusted bread – are still the glowing heart of Brae.

Restaurant Orana, Adelaide

​In a boxy dining room accessed from a low-lit laneway, a Scottish-Italian chef is making international headlines with his exploration of the largely uncharted world of native Australian ingredients. Pickled kohlrabi is curled into a bouquet with quandongs and lemon myrtle dressing, while Port Lincoln tuna belly is graced with pearl meat shoyu and bitter-sweet ruby saltbush berries.

Ormeggio at The Spit, Sydney

​Quite possibly the best snacks in Sydney come in waves of cream and crunch, perched on wooden logs and tablets of stone. Marron in a taco. Eggplant parmigiano, a crisp powdery shell around warm eggplant puree with parmesan cream. Savoury bomboloni, filled with spicy 'nduja, like spreadable salami. Whether you go for the "little" four-course Trip Through Italy inspired by four regions, or the longer degustation, the surprises don't let up.

Sixpenny, Sydney

​Few Sydney restaurants smell quite as good as this one. It's an extremely comfortable place to while away an afternoon, surrounded by botanical watercolours and the low hum of happy diners. The menu is an ever-evolving study in simplicity. Ballina spanner crab, bathed in drawn butter and bejewelled with salmon roe might be followed by long ribbons of beetroot, baked in the spices of boudin noir, wrapped around venison tartare.

The Good Food Guide goes national this year with hats awarded across Australia. The Good Food Guide 2018 will be launched on Monday, October 16, with our presenting partners Citi and Vittoria and will be on sale in newsagencies, bookstores and at The Store By Fairfax (thestore.com.au/good-food-guide-2018).