Despite not making it through to the next round of competition, Novaro’s Restaurant owner and chef Nicholas Hooper said he had a great time participating in the Australian Chef of the Year competition in Sydney.
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“I really enjoyed it. I’m happy I did it,” Hooper said.
He said he was “very nervous” about the competition to begin with, but was fine once he got into the kitchen.
“I got myself into a bit of a tizz to start,” he said.
“I got to the 40 minute mark and I couldn’t believe that I’d done it.”
Hooper competed in heat seven of the competition, and had to cook two dishes for judges.
His first dish was Atlantic salmon with sesame oil, oysters with chilli scallops, and cucumber mash.
The second dish was buttermilk scotch pork with herbed yellow beans and roasted farro with a lemon yoghurt dressing.
“I’d do it again, definitely,” Hooper said. “Next time I’ll know what to expect.”
About 170 chefs applied to compete in the competition, with only 32 finalists selected.