They’re not household names – yet. Meet five of the state’s best young chefs

What are the major challenges faced by young Australian chefs today? If you could open your own restaurant tomorrow, what would it be? What’s the most significant highlight of your career?

These are some of the questions Good Food put to the applicants in The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2026 Young Chef of the Year Award, presented by Smeg. Founded in memory of chef Josephine Pignolet, the longstanding award is for a committed and skilled kitchen talent under 30.

This year’s finalists were selected from a field of more than 30 applicants across NSW and the ACT. They could not be the owner or executive chef of a restaurant, and must be a permanent Australian resident. Judged by a panel of industry leaders and Good Food Guide editors, the winner will be announced at the Good Food Guide Awards on Monday, October 13, at Carriageworks, Eveleigh.

“We had one of the most impressive groups of applicants I’ve ever seen for the award,” says Good Food Guide editor Callan Boys.

“After many hours reading and discussing the applications with Guide co-editor David Matthews, the finalists that made it through to the interview panel had the strongest points of view and defined ambitions. Some other applicants had more impressive CVs, but our five finalists also aimed to support their peers and provided constructive solutions to the challenges facing young chefs today.”

From a Malaysian migrant changing perceptions of “tourist trap” restaurants, to an outspoken mental health advocate, these are the young chefs to watch in 2026.

Chloe Sharp, The Palomar

Leading beyond the glass ceiling

The glass ceiling appeared early in Chloe Sharp’s hospitality career – an invisible barrier preventing the chef from progressing to the next section in the kitchen.

“The main reason, I believe, was because I was female,” she says. “The fact I’m a woman shouldn’t matter. I’m good at my job; I know what I’m doing. They just needed to give me a chance.”

Reports published this year by the Australian Human Rights Commission and Newcastle University show gender-based discrimination remains prevalent in the Australian hospitality sector.

For Sharp, it was bad enough to reconsider her career choice: “I’ve never wanted to do anything else … [but I wondered] is this worth it for me?” she says.

Landing a job at rooftop restaurant Kiln at The Ace Hotel in 2023 changed everything, the 27-year-old says. There, she found good management and mentorship under former chef partner Mitch Orr, and went on to become acting head chef following Orr’s departure.

“All I had ever been shown was anger, and then, working with Mitch, he taught me … [being a good head chef] wasn’t necessarily about the food; it was about just being a decent human, and you get the most out of people when you treat them how you want to be treated,” she says.

It’s the kind of culture she hopes to foster as sous chef at the upcoming Paddington restaurant The Palomar, where Orr is culinary director.

“Don’t lead by fear. Be understanding. Help guide … everyone will work better for it,” she says.

Daniel Wesson, Clam Bar

The corporate-to-cuisine pipeline

Daniel Wesson isn’t the first Young Chef of the Year finalist to trade a corporate career for chef whites, and he won’t be the last. There’s something about the instant gratification of a dish done well, the camaraderie of a crowded kitchen, and the tangential joy of working with one’s hands that was captivating, even when he was a teenager assembling breakfast buns at his local cafe.

“[Hospitality] made me feel welcome,” says the 28-year-old sous chef. “There’s honesty to it.”

Still, Wesson saw hospitality as a way to make ends meet as he studied a bachelor of business, and eventually progressed into a career in marketing.

“Something about desk work never quite clicked with me though,” he says. He called it quits after one year.

“[That was] the moment hospitality shifted from a part-time job to a full-time commitment,” he says. “I stopped dreaming about being a chef and started living it.”

Staff shortages are an ongoing problem within the hospitality sector, in part due to the transient nature of its young workforce. So, how can we encourage other young staff to see hospitality as a viable career choice?

“I think it’s all about training and education at a younger age: getting students into restaurants and exposing them to the service, the food, [and] … even the farming,” Wesson says. “This kind of work can be really gratifying … [and] there’s definitely [earning potential] there: if you’re passionate about it, the money will come.”

Juan David Taborda Londono, Quay

The future of fine dining

When the cost of a weekly grocery shop soars beyond three figures, dreams of spending big on elaborate six-course set menus quickly dissipate. But even in a cost-of-living crisis, there’s value to be found in fine dining, says Colombian-born sous chef Juan David Taborda Londono.

For 30-year-old Londono, who spent his career in pursuit of culinary excellence at restaurants such as Eleven Madison Park and Quay, fine-dining represents more than a fancy meal; it’s a lifelong memory.

“If you have the chance to do it, it’s an unforgettable experience,” he says.

Londono, who sacrifices regular restaurant visits to save for the occasional multi-course splurge, lights up reminiscing about acclaimed French restaurant Odette, in Singapore: “[It showed] how food can honour tradition while still pushing boundaries, and how humility and refinement can exist on the same plate,” he says.

But such restaurants are in decline due to staff shortages, rising costs and lowered spending, and closures (or significant pivots) continued throughout winter with announcements from Longshore (Chippendale), Monopole (CBD), Song Bird (Double Bay) and Parlar (Potts Point).

So where does that leave the future of fine dining?

“I would say there’ll be less fine-dining restaurants [over the next few years], and there’ll be more fine-casual restaurants with young chefs, making good food and doing fun things,” Londono says.

“[But] the standards I’ve learned at these restaurants, I don’t ever want to change, no matter where I’m working.”

Jade Gilmour, Sixpenny

Thriving in a pressure cooker

Young hospitality workers are consistently ranked among the most at-risk of developing anxiety, depression and burnout, according to annual workplace reports from Super Friend, and 27-year-old pastry chef Jade Gilmour has experienced those challenges first-hand.

“As a green, impressionable young chef … I was afraid of being wrong, I was afraid of making mistakes, [and] I was afraid of getting yelled at,” she says. “It stemmed from my own depression and anxiety.”

There were long hours, high stress, and a wider culture of alcohol and substance abuse, she says: “Young chefs don’t know how deep the rabbit hole can go, especially if you’re dealing with [mental health].”

But there’s support there, too, for those willing to speak up. Gilmour says young chefs need to be able to find mentors who are communicative, open-minded and educated about mental health. Those are the type of people who “dropped everything to help” when Gilmour was struggling, helped reframe her fears, and celebrated her wins.

Ultimately, she says, a career in hospitality was the right choice: “What once held me back began to turn into a source of motivation and personal growth. With each small win ... I gained more confidence in my abilities—something that once seemed impossible.”

Jen Kwok Lee, Infinity by Mark Best

Changing countries, cities, and perceptions

It’s a familiar story: a restaurant opens with a killer view, and it quickly becomes a tourist trap – profiting from its location, rather than the quality of its food.

Twenty-nine-year-old Jen Kwok Lee is making a career out of changing that stereotype. The Malaysian-born chef spent the past two years at the Ritz-Carlton Melbourne, building its restaurant Atria from the ground up.

“From concept to execution, I had the opportunity to challenge how people perceive hotel dining in Australia, through the lens of a Malaysian Chinese immigrant cooking on the foreign land that I now call home,” Lee says.

Lee moved from Malaysia to Melbourne 10 years ago, hoping to take his career to the next level. “Restaurants in Malaysia hadn’t reached the point where they could really compete on the international stage yet,” he says. But they had shown him how much potential hotel restaurants had.

“Back home, [they] were always the best because they [were able to invest in] infrastructure, [and] the size of the team they had,” Lee says. “Coming to [Australia] and trying to implement some of that into an international brand … was a really challenging and rewarding opportunity.”

During Lee’s tenure at Atria, the restaurant received one hat from The Age Good Food Guide.

Now, he’s stepped up to the revolving 81st floor of the Sydney Tower to take on the role of head chef at the new Infinity by Mark Best, where he “continues to … challenge the conventional perception of tourist trap restaurants”.

He also wants to change the perception of migrant chefs: “This job isn’t just a pathway to obtain permanent residency … people treat this industry seriously and are really proud of what they do,” Lee says.

“[We need to] ensure they have the ingredients to succeed, and know there’s proper career progression within this industry.”

Update, the event is now sold out. Join acclaimed chef and former Good Food Young Chef of the Year Phil Wood on Wednesday, October 8 at 6.30pm at his restaurant, Ursula’s Paddington, for an unforgettable evening showcasing the next generation of culinary talent.

For $150 per person, enjoy sparkling wine and canapés on arrival, followed by a four-course dinner designed by the five finalists for The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide Young Chef of the Year presented by Smeg.