Meet the NSW Good Food Guide Young Chef of the Year finalists

• Meet the Victorian Good Food Guide Young Chef of the Year finalists

The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide returns this year in all its glory with hats, scores and awards, including Chef of the Year and Restaurant of the Year.

One of the most influential awards in the Guide's 40-year history has been the Young Chef of the Year Award. Today we reveal this year's six finalists.

Much has been said about the toll COVID inflicted upon the hospitality industry, but the more than 40 award applications from chefs in their 20s revealed only passion, driving ambition and game-changing plans for the future.

It was incredible to glimpse this proof that our dining scene has even more exciting heights to hit in the hands of young talent such as this.

The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide editor, Callan Boys, interviewed the six finalists with a panel of industry stars: Dan Hong (Merivale), Dan Puskas (Sixpenny), Lauren Eldridge (Berowra Waters Inn).

The winner will be announced on November 21 at The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide awards. Buy the Guide and read all about all the winners on November 22.

Ardyn Bernoth, editor, Good Food

Laura Rheinlander, Bar Vincent

For Laura Rheinlander, becoming a chef was never part of the plan. As a biomedical student, she took on a weekend barista position at hatted Brisbane restaurant Gauge for a bit of extra cash. But when an apprentice chef dropped out, Rheinlander stepped up, and everything changed.

"There has been a decline in young people taking up hospitality as a career," Rheinlander says.

"It has this reputation for having long hours and very little work-life balance.

"But I don't think being a cook today is the same as it was even five years ago. It's a lot more accommodating, diverse and inclusive."

Hospitality allowed Rheinlander to pursue her interest in cooking and "build a wonderful career around it".

"I realised cooking is a beautiful way of connecting with people, it's extremely rewarding," she says.

While COVID presented one of the industry's greatest challenges, Rheinlander says it also highlighted its strengths. The sous chef, who finished her apprenticeship at Stanmore's Sixpenny before moving onto Bar Vincent in 2021, recalls the frenzied first service post-lockdown as a career-defining moment.

As seatings ran overtime, diners crowded onto the footpath and the small Bar Vincent team pulled together, Rheinlander paused amid the chaos to feel that little bit of "magic" in the atmosphere.

"I felt so grateful and fulfilled to be able to share my passion and joy for cooking with a room full of people who were so gracious," she says.

"That evening has remained a constant point of reference for how assured I am in my love of this job."

Go-to midnight snack: A good, old-fashioned ham and cheese toastie

Favourite Sydney restaurant: Bistrot 916

Drink order: A wet gin martini

Favourite cooking tunes: Tina Turner Spotify radio

Cooking advice: Always cook as though you're cooking for your family

Luciano Libonati Lane, Ursula's

"It's the time of rockstar chefs," says Luciano Libonati Lane, the junior sous chef at hatted Paddington restaurant Ursula's.

He's referring to hospitality's cultural renaissance, where social media stars and TV shows such as The Bear and Iron Chef paint an emotionally charged, adrenaline-fuelled portrait of restaurant life.

"The industry is becoming pretty exciting to a lot of people," Libonati Lane says.

"But working in a kitchen isn't always like that. As much as I love my job and find my work rewarding … It is a very mentally and physically taxing industry."

At a time when staff retention is front of mind, helping young chefs reconcile that expectation with their day-to-day reality poses one of the industry's greatest challenges, Libonati Lane says.

But the right mentor can make all the difference. Libonati Lane has come a long way since he started flipping burgers for the drunk 3am crowd at Barkly Street in St Kilda. Now, working under the guidance of former Rockpool chef Phil Wood, he feels as though "the sky's the limit".

"It makes a big difference for young people coming into it to see the person you work for, the person who runs the business, in there working his ass off to make sure you're supported," Libonati Lane says.

"I have learned a lot working in [Wood's] kitchens. He has believed in my career.

"Now I know that, in Australia, you can learn anything. It's all up to you: How passionate you are, how far you want to go and what you want to learn."

Go-to midnight snack: Tasty cheese and crackers

Favourite Sydney restaurant: Porcine

Drink order: A classic negroni

Overrated ingredient: Micro herbs

Favourite cooking tunes: Kris Kristofferson

Elodie Marion, Mimi's

Gone are the days when young chefs would sit on their living room floor, surrounded by a collection of cookbooks, thumbing through pages in search of inspiration. Instead, they scroll through Instagram, says Elodie Marion.

For Marion, the pastry senior sous chef at Coogee restaurant Mimi's, the social media revolution has been a blessing and a curse.

"Instagram has destroyed the art of imagination," Marion says in her Young Chef of the Year application, noting the app's effect on both cookbooks and in-person dining.

"I use Instagram and it can be a very powerful tool," she says.

"But people are choosing to go to certain places and eat certain things based on what they see on [the app], as opposed to just going and enjoying the surprise."

The Le Cordon Bleu-trained pastry chef says her ambition is to "create amazing experiences for people".

"Sometimes you feel like you can't be bothered, but then you see people have a bite of your dessert and they're like, 'Wow!'," she says, fondly remembering reactions to her Viennetta-inspired ice-cream.

"It puts everything into perspective when you see how much happiness [your food] creates."

It's those little moments that remind Marion of everything the hospitality industry has to offer her.

"We need to show young people that it is fun to work in hospitality and, yeah, you might sacrifice some of your time, but it's so worth it," she says.

"You can take your love of cooking and turn it into a career. You can really make something of yourself."

Go-to midnight snack: Always cheese. Any type of cheese, I'm not fussy

Favourite Sydney restaurant: Club Fontana, so simple but so delicious

Drink order: A dry martini with a twist

Favourite cooking tunes: A chilled-out station on Spotify

Cooking advice: Always taste everything and keep tasting it until it's perfect

Tom Foster, ELE by Federico and Karl

The staffing crisis is front-of-mind for Tom Foster, the young head chef of multi-sensory Pyrmont restaurant ELE by Federico and Karl. A recent report [by hospitality industry platform Barcats Australia] revealed more than 10,000 workers were needed to support Sydney's hospitality industry and Foster is feeling the pressure.

"One wrong move and you could lose 10 staff members really quickly," he says, explaining how the hardcore Marco Pierre-White method of management has been thrown out in favour of patience and respect.

"There is no point working someone 80 hours a week and then grilling them about a bucket that's the wrong way up.

"I don't want anyone waking up in cold sweats, dreading work."

Foster admits it's been a challenge to run a kitchen with strict working hours, four-day work weeks and additional training for the junior team members.

"At the end of the day it comes down to managing people effectively," he says.

"We need to keep moving and evolving and adapting because we need people to come back the next day. We need people to see hospitality as a long-term career."

While Foster encourages his staff to embrace work-life balance, his passion for the job means he struggles to implement it himself. Foster got his start as an apprentice chef at his high school French teacher's restaurant, Le Chat Noir, and has been hooked since.

"I'm committed to this career so for me, this is my life," he says, revealing his time off is frequently spent cooking, reading about cooking, or visiting local farms.

"The high energy, the attention to detail, the constant challenges … I just love it."

Go-to midnight snack: Tacos

Favourite Sydney restaurant: Cafe Paci

Drink order: An Old Fashioned

Favourite cooking tunes: Alt-J

Cooking advice: Work hard and you'll get the reward

Sam Bartlett Roylance, Pipit

Sam Bartlett Roylance was working through a guided meditation when he realised he wanted to become a chef. As the soothing voice spoke through his headphones, it encouraged him to visualise where he wanted to see himself in five years.

"It sounds a bit wishy washy," he admits, laughing.

"But I kept thinking of all my friends that worked in restaurants. I wanted to do what they were doing."

Roylance, now sous chef at Pottsville restaurant Pipit, was working full time in a sales position at a startup company in Brisbane. From Monday to Friday, he "lost himself" in work he neither enjoyed nor believed in.

"All of my best memories involved food, whether it was while travelling or hanging around the kitchen table with mum."

Fear held him back. Roylance had heard about "rough and tumble" kitchens, filled with intense personalities and substance abuse.

"I had a lot of preconceptions about being a chef but once I started to have conversations with my friends in the industry, I realised it wasn't necessarily like that," he says.

"There's a fun side of hospitality that a lot of people don't see."

Roylance got his first gig at the now-closed West End restaurant Luigi's Italian, where he completely immersed himself in his new career.

"They were long, hard days and occasionally I slept in a swag next to the cold room, downstairs from the kitchen. That tough period and separation from the 9-5 reality I knew validated my decision to become a chef. I love what I do."

Go-to midnight snack: Mie goreng with shallots and a fried egg
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Condiment I couldn't live without: A cliche answer, but Kewpie mayonnaise

The dish I never want to eat again: Fermented duck eggs, partially fertilised at room temperature

Overrated ingredient: It kills me to say but truffles

Favourite cooking tunes: Gang of Youths

Yupin "Alice" Baek, Pilot

As a child living in the South Korean countryside, Yupin Baek would long for the loud rumble of her father's truck. That sound, heard just once each year, meant two things: First, she would see her father, who worked long hours in the city to send money back to Baek and her grandmother. And second, she would get to try all of the delicious snacks and chocolates that weren't available in her small, regional town.

"I was always waiting for that one time each year," Baek says.

"One day, when I open my own restaurant, I want to call it The Truck because I want my customers to feel the same way I did back then, when I heard the sound of my dad's truck. I want them to feel excited about coming into the restaurant, and reading the menu, and seeing my food."

For now, Baek is focussed on making the most of her position as junior sous chef at Canberra restaurant, Pilot. Her egg drop soup, featured on the restaurant's winter menu, was inspired by her grandmother.

"When I cook something for our customers, or for the staff, and they try it and think it's delicious, my heart bounces. I'm so happy," she says.

"In Korea, being a chef isn't considered a good job, especially for a woman. My dad is always worried about me. But I want to show him that I can do it, I can work hard for our family."

Go-to midnight snack: Instant dumplings
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Condiment I couldn't live without: Dijon mustard

The dish I never want to eat again: Nothing! I really like to try new things

Drink order: Gin and tonic

Cooking advice: Don't forget the seasoning

The Good Food Guide 2023 magazine, with more than 300 independent reviews of the best restaurants in NSW, is on sale from November 22, $9.95. Available from newsagents, supermarkets or pre-order at thestore.com.au/gfg