South East Queensland’s young chefs that are hot right now
They’re young and ambitious, and they’re taking dining to new levels. Meet South East Queensland’s nine hottest chefs right now.
QLD News
Don't miss out on the headlines from QLD News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Brisbane’s dining scene has fast become one of the most impressive in the country, and much of that growth can be credited to a group of up-and-coming chefs.
While the foundations of the scene were built by icons like e’cco bistro’s Phillip Johnson and Thierry Galichet of the original Montrachet and La Cache a Vin, it’s the vast number of wildly talented young chefs that are making Brisbane their culinary home that continue to put the city on the map.
We’ve rounded up nine of Brisbane’s best chefs under 40, together boasting more accolades, their own restaurants and incredible stories than you can count.
Yogesh Budathoki
Meeting Yogesh Budathoki, owner and chef at Monal Dining in Newstead, and learning his impressive career history, you would never know he only immigrated to Australia just eight short years ago.
Just two years into his journey to becoming a chef, Budathoki made the bold decision to venture far from his homeland of Nepal, to set up a new home in southeast Queensland, and as any diner at Monal would agree, it’s a decision to be grateful for.
The 31-year-old, known for his time at Howard Smith Wharves favourites Greca and Yoko and an impressive tenure as sous chef at Anyday’s Honto, launched his own venue in early 2024.
The Skyring Terrace haunt is the coming together of a lifelong dream driven by a deep love of and satisfaction in watching others enjoy his meals.
It took a great deal of ambition (and raw talent) to get Budathoki to this point, which could see him take on any role he desired, but the chef says the dream now is to continue Monal long into the future.
Ashley-Maree Kent
She’s cheffed in fine-diners and casual cafes in Sydney, worked with pastry in the US and made bread at the Gold Coast’s popular Paddock Bakery, but 34-year old Ashley-Maree Kent has really made her mark with the opening of two of her own venues in Coorparoo.
Kent kicked off with Ramona’s Trattoria in 2022, followed by sibling venue osteria Bar Rocco in 2024.
Her goal in opening Ramona’s was simply to be in control of her own path, while drawing on Paddock-found passion for working with dough.
Now that little neighbourhood Italian joint is endlessly popular with locals and visitors alike, gaining notoriety for its meticulously hand shaped and cut pasta and wood-fired pizza, with Bar Rocco serving as the perfect pre-dinner drinks spot.
Kyle McNamara
Kyle McNamara is one of those chefs that is constantly pushing boundaries in everything from the ingredients he uses, the truly bizarre and incredible dishes he often creates to the very venues he works in.
At just 29, McNamara has “sunk his teeth into” every opportunity that has come his way, including at prestigious venues like Homage at Spicers Hidden Vale and Beechmont Estate in the Gold Coast Hinterland.
Late in 2024, McNamara decided to helm the kitchen of Caxton St start-up Velveteen Rabbit, where his creativity and freedom of expression is not just accepted, but adored.
Perfectly pairing with the Velveteen Rabbit’s unique vibe (rabbit hole speak-easy included), McNamara’s dishes have seen the venue skyrocket into the city’s dining scene, becoming a firm favourite for punters, foodies and chefs alike.
With a longstanding love of local, regional produce, it’s no surprise that one of the chef’s greatest ambitions is to become a part of the community that provides the medium for his art.
“My biggest dream would be to own a small plot of land somewhere in the hinterlands … picture a working farm and a small, intimate restaurant, maybe in a restored Queenslander with big glass windows looking out over the rolling hills and garden beds below,” McNamara said.
“Nothing overcomplicated, just food with heart, grown with care, and shared with purpose.”
“That’s the dream: something honest, rooted in place, and deeply connected to both land and community.”
Amber Heaton
By 24 most people have barely embarked upon the career that will see them through their life, let alone succeed at it as wholeheartedly as chef Amber Heaton has.
Starting work in kitchens at just 14, this talented young gun, currently Chef de Partie at The Star Gold Coast’s Cucina Vivo, has represented Australia in countless international competitions, and guided other young chefs to do the same.
Heaton captained youth culinary teams in the 2024 IKA Culinary Olympics in Germany and the 2022 Culinary World Cup in Luxembourg, and its only onwards and upwards for her now.
With a deeply connected part-Italian family, it was no surprise that Heaton would grow to have a passion for cooking and food, but it was a simple Year 10 work experience stint that really started it all.
For someone so young, some of the talented chef’s greatest joys come from mentoring other young chefs, as she draws upon the advice of her late grandfather to “be a leader, not a follower”, and knowing that what brings them all together is passion and a love for bringing people together through their food.
Harry Sung
Moo Moo’s Restaurant is arguably one of the best steakhouses around and for the last few years at least, that quality food can be attributed to the work of young Korea-born head chef Harry Sung.
While Sung’s expertise may be in French cuisine, the chef strives to weave in his Korean influence at every turn, using his technical training to champion bold Korean flavours.
Sung started at Moo Moo’s almost ten years ago, after stints at Libertine and Bistro Arlette.
He also spent time training at Korean Michelin two-star restaurant Mingles, before being promoted to Head Chef in 2023, where he further perfected his skills and is lauded as the “best of the best”.
Taking on fellow Brisbane and Australian chefs in the 2024 Queensland Chef of the Year Competition, Sung was a grand finalist, just losing out to fellow Brisbanite Anotoine Potier of Restaurant Dan Arnold.
Mitchell Muchow
Mitchell Muchow’s tale to success starts with the classic trope of a small-town kid setting off to the big city to chase his dreams, but this Bundaberg-born boy could never have imagined the life he would create.
The “almost 30 year old” shipped straight from school to Sydney to pursue his apprenticeship, finding his longtime career home in the venue he completed his training in.
The Apollo Restaurant Group, who operate renowned Sydney venues The Apollo and Cho Cho San, and Brisbane’s Greca and Yoko, saw a talent in Muchow as an apprentice, and supported his move from their southern venues to their Queensland restaurants in 2019.
He traversed the fast-maturing Brisbane dining scene, dipping his toes into the restaurants of powerhouse Anyday Group, including roles at Bianca and Agnes, co-opening a multi-level cafe, and returning to his roots at Greca’s head chef.
A chance to pioneer the back-of-house set-up of a popular Sydney restaurant has seen Muchow step into an operations role, still with the Apollo Group, managing back of house operations of their five venues across Australia.
Elliot Platz
Divine dining might not be the first thing that springs to mind when most think about Ipswich, but there are gems to be found, and Elliot Platz is heading up one of them.
Suburban wine bar Monte Lane is making its mark as a dining destination not to be missed, bringing the talent he honed in world-class dining institutions like Blume at Boonah and Kooroomba Restaurant, to the little laneway hotspot.
Platz holds a deep passion for the Scenic Rim and its producers, taking that love beyond just lip-service (though he has plenty of gushing words to say on them). The chef has taken on roles as a Scenic Rim Eat Local Month ambassador and as a mentor of students at Boonah State High School.
Platz said that much of what makes his career amazing is the local producers and that he has a “desire to celebrate the love, nature and sustainable legacy of not the industry itself, but the people behind the scenes.”
Tom Hitchcock
With humble beginnings as a ‘dishie’, Tom Hitchcock has worked his way through the ranks and claimed accolades few can boast.
Hitchcock, current head chef at the unshine Coast’s Spirit House, has been named top of his game more than once, taking out the titles of Queensland Chef of the Year in 2022, and theFoodService Australia Chef of the Year in 2023, and for good reason too.
Hitchcock is pioneering fine Asian dining on the Sunshine Coast, weaving his passion for produce with his extensive training and twisting it all up using techniques like fermentation.
Anyone who has experienced one of Hitchcock’s Spirit House Tasting Table events, which involves a 16-dish, eight- course secret no-holds-barred menu, can attest to his skills.
It’s unsurprising, given the 30-year-old talent spent his formative years working with some of the state’s top chefs and restaurateurs, from his time at award-winning The Long Apron to a stint with veteran chef Peter Kuruvita at Noosa Beach House to his time as both a sous and head chef at Spirit House.
Shayne Mansfield
Taking the reins of not one but three of the city’s most highly anticipated venues is no easy feat, but 39-year-old chef Shayne Mansfield has made it look like a breeze.
Perched atop the Queens Wharf Precinct’s Skydeck sits Mansfield’s own kingdom, complete with casual diner Babblers, open-air bar Cicada Blu, and fine-dining jewel Aloria.
Few chefs would have been prepared to take on the challenge, but with a career spent in prestigious kitchens like e’cco bistro, Scott’s and Pollen Street Social in London and venues like The Long Apron, Flotilla and QT Newcastle, Mansfield has taken it in his stride.
He has a deep passion for sustainability and provenance, aiming to keep his produce sourced as close to home as possible, and keeping his venues “virtually no-waste”.
Speaking to The Courier-Mail last year, Mansfield said while there would always be waste in such a big resort, he strived to keep waste to a minimum, using the most of every ingredient in some truly unique ways.
Mansfield is also an avid potter who has crafted dishware for his previous venues, and hopes to do the same for Aloria.
Originally published as South East Queensland’s young chefs that are hot right now
Council loses two-year court fight over disability housing
The Court of Appeal has upheld a ruling and rejected Redland Council’s arguments, approving units for disabled housing to be built in Cleveland.
Bombshell ruling on armed youth home invaders who terrorised rugby star’s family
Kid crims who invade Queensland homes armed and attack residents with knives in “heinous” acts should not have convictions recorded against them, the state’s highest court has ruled.