Appetite For Excellence
-The future of the hospitality industry
Nurturing Australia’s next gen hospitality leaders
ABOUT
Established in 2005, Appetite for Excellence is Australia’s most prestigious awards program for young talent working in hospitality, judged by the best in the industry.
Through a program of application and judging, educational workshops and leadership mentoring activities, Appetite for Excellence identifies Australia’s top young talent, puts them through their paces, challenges them to develop their skills and provides them with mentoring and education to nurture their success in becoming Australia’s next generation of inspiring leaders.
YOUNG CHEF
If you are an aspiring young chef who’d like to take your career to the next level, then this is the awards for you!
YOUNG WAITER
Australia’s most prestigious and (as far as we are aware!) only awards for talented young waiters.
YOUNG RESTAURATEUR
Celebrating the dynamic young restaurateurs leading the new wave of exciting, ground-breaking Australian restaurants.
Meet industry leaders, engage with like-minded peers, challenge yourself to get out of your comfort zone, gain constructive feedback from the judges, visit one of Australia’s leading food-growing regions and learn about agriculture & viticulture, and, if you are a winner, travel overseas and experience a stagiaire at a world-renowned restaurant.
Our Story
Appetite for Excellence has a simple focus: to unearth, upskill and mentor Australia’s top young talent to give them the tools to become the next generation of hospitality industry leaders and ensure that the future of one of Australia’s most important economies – tourism and hospitality – is in the best hands possible.
TRULY NATIONAL
We welcome applicants from all over Australia.
DRIVING INDUSTRY EXCELLENCE
We are proud of our longevity, high profile judges, mentors and partners, and, alumni success stories.
BROAD INDUSTRY FOCUS
We recognise and celebrate chefs, restaurateurs, waiters and mixologists.
COMMITTED TO INDUSTRY GROWTH
We are focused on providing our next gen talent with the skills to create a sustainable future for Australia’s hospitality industry.
PARTNERs
Appetite for Excellence wouldn’t be possible without our valued partners who understand the importance of investing in the next generation of talent.
We thank them for sharing our vision and providing their invaluable support in developing and inspiring Australia’s young emerging talent, assisting in the ongoing enrichment of Australia’s culinary footprint on the world stage and ensuring a strong future for Australia’s food and tourism economies.
LATEST NEWS & RECIPES
27 March 2020: Important Announcement
In light of the unprecedented and uncertain times that the hospitality industry is currently experiencing we have made the difficult but necessary decision to hit pause on the Appetite for Excellence awards for this year. As our industry navigates these unchartered...
read more
2020 Applications OPEN!
Applications for Appetite for Excellence 2020 Young Chef, Young Waiter and Young Restaurateur, Australia’s most prestigious awards for young hospitality talent, are now open. Founded in 2005 by Luke Mangan OAM and Lucy Allon, Appetite for Excellence is Australia’s...
read more
Alumni Profile: Shui Ishizaka – 2017 Young Chef winner
Shui Ishizaka, our Appetite for Excellence 2017 Young Chef, visited Sydney recently as part of Thomas Frebel’s Good Food Month collaboration with Clayton Wells at Wells' two-hat restaurant, Automata. Working under Peter Gilmore at Bennelong Sydney when he entered and...
read moreSOCIAL
@appetiteforexcellence
@appetiteforexcellence
Contact
info@appetiteforexcellence.com