Michael Cole looks like he’s just jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire. Hot, sweaty and a little unwell, the Australian chef has been at the pans for a marathon five hours. But now it’s a sprint to the line.

With the help of his apprentice, commis chef Laura Skvor, the chef from Flinders Hotel on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula is frantically racing against the clock about the compact kitchen to get his two hot dishes finished in time and some 30 portions plated.