Recent TAFE SA graduate Charlie One has cooked up a winning menu at the Nestle Golden Chef’s Hat SA regional challenge, earning a place in the national final in Melbourne later this year.

Charlie, who works at Rosemont Hall, completed his commercial cookery course at TAFE SA last month and says the competition was a good opportunity to test his skills.

The Nestle Golden Chef’s Hat Award competition, which aims to support and raise the profile of talented apprentices and young chefs, requires entrants to plan recipes, cook and serve a two-course meal, using a specified protein and incorporating Nestle products.

“The criteria of the competition listed lamb as the main protein and I rarely work with lamb so it was a big challenge,” says Charlie, whose preparation included dining out by himself to taste lamb dishes and ponder how best to serve it.

His winning menu featured Lamp Rump with Spiced Cauliflower and Lemon Meringue Tart, with judges noting the standout flavours.

Charlie says he aims to not overcomplicate his cooking, preferring simple dishes with balanced flavours and not too many sauces.

He credits his interest in cooking to growing up in a family who operated hospitality and food ventures.

“I’ve been in the kitchen as long as I can remember. I was born into a family that ran food businesses and after high school I would work in the shop,” he says.

“I had a passion for food and by the time I turned 18 I wanted to go to TAFE to be a chef.”

He postponed his studies to spend time working and finally followed up on his plan to study at TAFE SA in 2025, completing the Certificate III in Commercial Cookery last month.

Starting a new job at Rosemont Hall while completing the final stages of his study, Charlie admits he wasn’t sure if he could commit time to the competition but was swayed by the opportunity to test his skills against “likeminded, passionate people”.

Challenging himself to cook well under pressure was also important to Charlie who concedes that not everything went to plan but he was pleased that he kept calm and found solutions.

“The skills and techniques that I learnt at TAFE SA as well as my experience in kitchens enabled me to adapt and that really helped me in the competition,” he says.

Of the 19 competitors in the SA cook-off, Charlie was awarded the highest score overall, while Anna Timpano, a first-year apprentice at Esmay, won the Best Signature Dish for her pan-seared lamb rump

The national final will be held in the ACF Culinary Challenge Arena at Fine Food Australia in Melbourne on Monday 31 August and Tuesday 1 September.