Meet the SPYCA Competition Pacific Local Jury and discover their ones to watch

Clinton Mciver

My good friend and colleague Steve Harry’s restaurants Suze and the newly opened Nina [both in Melbourne] are reflections of his incredible energy, creativity and generosity as a chef. Steve has a rare ability to create restaurants that feel deeply personal while remaining exciting and relevant, and he brings an infectious enthusiasm to everything he does. What I particularly admire is the way he invests in the young chefs around him. He is generous with his knowledge, encourages them to find their own voice and creates an environment where people can genuinely grow. I think Steve is exactly the kind of chef who deserves greater visibility, not only for the food he creates, but for the influence he is already having on the next generation of Australian chefs.

Dan Hong

Khanh Nguyen is one of the most talented young chefs in the country at the moment. He runs two restaurants [in Sydney]: King Clarence and the recently opened Ashe. Khanh combines meticulous technique with mostly Southeast Asian flavours to create very unique, thought-provoking flavour bombs. I may be a little biased as he used to be one of my sous chefs at Mr Wong back in the day, but he has grown into an immense talent that cannot be ignored.

James Cole Bowen

 One chef I’m always excited to see what’s next from is Brian Cole. Having come through some of Perth’s top kitchens, Brian has built a strong foundation and developed into a natural leader with a clear voice of his own. This year, he stepped out on his own with a series of sold-out pop-ups, bringing together his West African heritage, the flavours and memories of his childhood, and the finesse and discipline of his fine-dining training. What excites me most is that Brian isn’t chasing trends. He’s creating food that is deeply personal, exciting to eat and genuinely connected to his culinary heritage.

Karen Martini

I first came across Diana Desensi, Head Chef of Delmonte in Carlton, when she was working with Matt Wilkinson, cooking vibrant Italian food with real spirit and an obvious love for what she was doing. I got to know her much better when she joined me at Saint George in St Kilda as Head Chef, and it has been incredibly rewarding to see how she has developed since then. Diana has always had an exceptional work ethic and an instinctive understanding of seasonal produce and Italian cookery. What has grown with experience is a quiet, unflappable confidence and real maturity as a leader. What impresses me most is the generosity she now brings to leading and developing younger cooks. Seeing talented women back themselves, grow into leadership and then lift others along the way is exactly what our industry needs. 

Ross Lusted

As I travel and dine out, my greatest observation of a change in our industry has been the shift towards experience-driven and single-focus dining. This is no more evident than at Sydney’s Ante, where co-owners Matt Young and chef Jemma Whiteman have created an immersive experience. Matt has travelled throughout Japan to search for their sake, and Emma serves beautiful small dishes that straddle Japan and Europe, enjoyed with the sound of vinyl filling the room. Although Emma has worked with some of the best in the business, she is at the start of creating her own narrative, her own story, and I think the best is yet to come.