Sunbury’s Kimberly Tang has cooked her way into the grand final of Australia’s longest-running culinary competition for the second time.
The 20 year old will cook in front of a live audience at the final round of Nestle Golden Chef’s Hat Award in Sydney in September.
Last week, Ms Tang and her teammate, Bridget Bottcher, aced the competition’s Victorian heat with their winning carrot lamb wellington, accompanied by caramelised onion sphere, fennel puree, zucchini stack, split sauce and a tomato lace wafer.
Ms Tang said that competing in last year’s grand final only made her more determined.
“Having competed last year I was hungry for more,” she said. “It was such a great experience – the exposure, networking opportunities, new skills I learned.”
Ms Tang works at Nobu restaurant in Crown.
The young chef chose an apprenticeship with Crown over a university offer to study commerce after finishing her secondary school studies at Salesian College.
“I thought it was better to start out as a chef when you’re younger,” she said.
Ms Tang got into cooking at a young age, cooking for herself while her parents were at work.
“They’d come home and find me in the kitchen,” she said
She said her favourite cuisine to prepare was modern Australian food with French and Japanese influences, but the ingredients list for the final is yet to be released.
The contest has been running for 52 years.
