Yamba chef Marley Van Den Boom completes internship at top Japanese three-Michelin-star restaurant Noma Kyoto

A young northern NSW chef has earned his culinary strips at one of the top restaurants in the world – and he’s got big dreams in the Clarence.

The entrance to Noma Kyoto.

A young up-and-coming Clarence Valley chef has spoken about learning under the world’s best at a three-Michelin-star restaurant in Japan.

Yamba local and Grafton TAFE graduate Marley Van Den Boom, 22, had the chance of a lifetime when he was offered an internship at Noma Kyoto.

Having first learned his craft at local cafes, such as Yamba’s Karrikin, Marley applied for one of the coveted internship positions and travelled to Japan to learn from the world’s best chefs.

“I was on holiday with my partner in a small village working and snowboarding in Japan and I had seen … (the restaurant) was happening and decided to send an email and apply for an internship,” he said.

“It is really competitive, so I honestly didn’t have high expectations.

“Just goes to show that if you go for it, you never know what might happen.”

Mr Van Den Boom was delighted when his application was successful — and believes the skills he learned at TAFE NSW prepared him for the experience.

Yamba local Marley Van Den Boom passing Japanese egg fruit at Noma.

“While it’s a completely different world in a restaurant like Noma, I was fortunate enough to come in with the foundational knowledge I needed to succeed,” he said.

“I had already established my basic skills and through my experience there, I was able to grow and expand on my knowledge.

(But) it was definitely a shock to the system, working long days as part of a huge team.

“Often there were around 30 people in the kitchen during service, which is something I had never experienced before.”

Mr Van Den Boom said he now holds himself to a much higher standard after the internship.

“Everyone was so extremely professional and took the work very seriously, they absolutely live for it,” he said.

Looking forward, the young Yamba local hopes to continue travelling the world, learning new cooking techniques.

“There is a long list of places I want to go — with the top three being South and Central America, Canada and London,” he said.

“I want to learn as much as I can and see all the different cultures and ways of doing things.”

But Mr Van Den Boom, who’s working at Karrikin Yamba, has his heart set on the Clarence.

He hopes to one day open his own restaurant on the North Coast.