Proud to be a Chef seeks Canberra apprentices

The Proud to be a Chef competition is looking for more Canberra apprentices to enter the annual award, which gives young chefs the chance to be mentored by top chefs.

Thirty-two finalists are chosen from around the country and spend four days taking part in masterclasses, eating out in Melbourne and being mentored by chefs, including Matthew Macartney, of Yering, Jake Nicholson, formerly of Circa, and Darren Purchese, of Burch and Purchese Sweet Studio.

Co-ordinator Carolyn Plummer says more than 400 trainee chefs have been through the program in the past 15 years and the winner gets $7500 to spend on an international placement.

Rosie Firth, of the Royal Canberra Golf Club, was the only Canberra entrant in last year’s competition, won by Jacob Hoskin, of Victoria. Entries close on Thursday, October 31, at facebook.com/proudtobeachef. The competition is run by Fonterra.