Tom Hitchcock wins Queensland Chef of the Year

Media Release: 30 May 2022

Tom Hitchcock has been named Queensland Chef of the Year, winning the prestigious title as well as $2,500 cash, valuable prizes and a trip to Sydney to compete in the national competition later this year.

Tom is Sous Chef at The Long Apron restaurant in Montville. He says his career highlights include time spent at the Winston pop-up, The Spirit House and a month spent with famed chef Dan Hunter at Brae in the Victorian countryside.

Head Judge Karen Doyle says Hitchcock was an outstanding competitor. “He displayed great innovation, had a special way with combining flavours, and showed great depth of knowledge with his techniques. His place as winner was cemented by his excellent work ethic.

“The standard in the grand final was incredibly high and just gets better every year. It is amazing to watch the development of the restaurant scene in Queensland and this is reflected in the dishes being put up for the competition”.

The competition had over 100 entries from professional chefs throughout Queensland. The top 28 competed live at the Brisbane Convention Centre as part of the Food & Hospitality Queensland trade exhibition.

The Grand Final was a close contest between Hitchcock, Shannon Strange from Café Baleana, Lauren Kinne formerly with Elska and Amber Heaton from Cucina Vivo at The Star. They had to cook two dishes from a mystery box in front of a panel of expert judges and huge crowd of cheering onlookers.

This year the mystery box included a lamb rack, duck breast, scallops, prawns, golden beetroot and green beans.

“This was a real test to see who could think on their feet and keep their cool when under pressure,” says Doyle. “The mystery box gave the chefs many options, and all four performed phenomenally well.”

The Queensland Chef of the Year is one of the most prestigious and rewarding in the state. Competition Director Peter Wright says it was made possible by generous industry supporters including Unox Ovens, B&E Foods, Alsco Uniforms and Bidfood.

“This year’s event drew more entries and spectators than ever before. By running it in the middle of the popular Food & Hospitality exhibition we ensure it is at the centre of our of industry. Our comperes Tawnya Bahr and Glenn Flood kept everyone fully informed.

“We were also lucky to have top chef judges including Karen Doyle from Le Cordon Bleu in Sydney, Andrew Ballard from Simmer Culinary in Victoria, Consultant Chef Paul Rifkin and local hero Dan Arnold from Restaurant Dan Arnold.”

The Australian Professional Chef of the Year will be held as part of Foodservice Australia in Sydney from 23-25 October 2022. The Queensland Chef of the Year will return next year. For more information visit www.chefcompetition.com.au

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Media Contact:

Kirsty Hunt

T: 03 9999 5460

E: kirsty@specialisedevents.com.au