'It's huge recognition', says Young Chef of the Year winner

Passionate about her work: Jodie Odrowaz, junior sous chef at Iki-jime Seafood by Vue, is Young Chef of the Year in the National Good Food Guide awards. Credit: Christopher Pearce

Josephine Pignolet Young Chef of the Year Award

JODIE ODROWAZ

It takes guts to ask high-profile chef Shannon Bennett for an apprenticeship. But that’s what Jodie Odrowaz did six years ago.

Odrowaz was a waiter at Bennett’s flagship restaurant Vue de Monde when she asked the boss for a start in the kitchen, and ‘‘he was all for it’’, she says.

The gamble, on both sides, paid off: Odrowaz, now a junior sous chef at Bennett’s Little Collins Street restaurant Iki-jime Seafood by Vue, is the 2018 Young Chef of the Year.

‘‘It's huge recognition," she said of the award.

"It’s very respected and past winners have gone very far. What an honour to be considered in the same company.’’

Odrowaz said Bennett ‘‘invests in young people who are passionate. If he sees the drive in you, he really trusts you."

After a two-year apprenticeship, Odrowaz, 26, worked at Number One restaurant at the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh and at Fera at Claridge’s, London.

While still absorbing new skills at Iki-jime, Odrowaz's dream is to open a providore with an evening restaurant service.

Being a chef is demanding, but also rewarding, creative, and challenging, she says.

Aspiring chefs needed to be passionate and willing to learn. ‘‘Don’t take criticism personally,’’ Odrowaz counselled. ‘‘It's easy to say, but to learn that takes a long time, I think.’’