Apprentice chef Nick Blundell will battle it out for the Apprentice of the Year title. 28860
By Tania Martin
NICK Blundell is making his mark on the Australian culinary scene.
The 18-year-old Montrose chef at Olinda’s Wild Oak restaurant is one of six in the final of the Apprentice Chef of the Year competition award after just 12 months in the industry.
“It’s a dream come true,” he said.
For Mr Blundell cooking has always been a passion.
“From a young age I always loved being in the kitchen and wanted to be a chef,” he said.
“I come from a family of triplets and a lot of the time had to learn to fend for myself and the desire just grew from there,” he said.
He got his first taste of working in the kitchen more than three years ago when taking up a work experience placement at Wild Oak.
He returned to the Wild Oak a year later to take up a school-based apprenticeship.
He said starting his training while finishing high school had put him ahead of the field.
“It was really good getting the chance to work in the industry you want to be in,” Mr Blundell said.
“It sets up a real head start for your trade as well because you have a whole year in the kitchen ahead of others just starting out.”
Wild Oak Restaurant executive chef Ben Higgs said being named a finalist in the competition was a great step forward for Mr Blundell.
“This is a massive feather in his cap,” Mr Higgs said. “The sky is the limit for young Nick”.
Mr Blundell was chosen out of hundreds of hopefuls across the state. To make the cut he had to design two original dishes to be judged by a panel of some of Australia’s finest chefs and food industry experts.
The winner will work with Thierry Marx, one of the world’s top chefs in his two-Michelin-star restaurant in Bordeaux, France.
Mr Blundell said it would be a chance of a life-time to win the trip to France.
“It would be a really great step forward for me and will help me to get where I want to go,” he said.
Mr Blundell is the second Wild Oak apprentice in three years to be named a finalist.
“This highlights the great pool of talented young people we have in regional Victoria,” Mr Higgs said.
The winners will be announced next Tuesday 14 April.
