Aimee and colleague Emma Kaye, from Melbourne, work under George Calombaris of MasterChef fame at The Press Club restaurant Melbourne as one of his apprentices.
Aimee Cahill from Coolum works at the Press Club Melbourne Photo Contributed
They competed as apprentice chefs, Under 25, at the 2015 Nestlé Golden Chef's Hat competition and won this prestigious title.
Executive chef George Calombaris and head chef Luke Croston put in many hours of preparation and training with the girls in the lead up to the competition.
George said he competed in this competition sometime in the early 1990s when he was in training as an apprentice himself and he valued the experience.
"I'm so proud of Aimee and Emma for really applying themselves to this competition," he said.
"They worked hard and were determined to do the best they could, training for weeks in their spare time on top of their full time positions at The Press Club."
WINNER: An incredible dessert served up by Coolum local Aimee Cahill.Contributed
George said to win this competition so early in their career was a great achievement.
"They were very diligent in both their preparation and execution. They've got great skills and most importantly the right attitude and passion towards what they do," he said.
Aimee started her cooking career in the cafés of Coolum then was given a big break when she trialled at an upmarket café in Melbourne.
Without hesitation she packed her bags and off she went.
Always looking for new challenges she then trialled at the Press Club and she made the grade securing a job in the kitchen.
Aimee said it was a much-disciplined work life with long, challenging shifts and she started at the bottom working on cold larder and cleaning.
"This profession is brutal, and it's fun, and it's high adrenalin I just love it," she said.
"Since we decided to enter we've had such amazing support from George, Luke and The Press Club team. They've really pushed us."
The Press Club head chef of Luke Croston said they collaborated together as a team, and had the support of everyone at The Press Club.
"Their three course menu, entrée, main and dessert were very innovative given the limited variety of ingredients they were allowed to use as part of the competition," he said.
THE MENU
Entree: Trout roulade, trout tartare, seaweed, egg white caviar and vanilla cashew milk.
Main: Braised beef short rib, handmade tortellinis, salt baked celeriac, pickled pear and roasted pear.
Dessert: Lemongrass and ginger semi freddo sphere with macerated mandarin centre, dark chocolate truffles and spiced mandarin sable.
Source: Sunshine Coast Daily, Erica Henderson, July 20th 2015
Originally published as: Coolum chef Aimee lands job with Calombaris in Melbourne
