CBD chef de partie set to compete in MasterChef-style “golden” title

A CBD worker is set to compete for a prestigious national title after winning the Victorian section of a competition described as the “MasterChef of young chefs in Australia”.

Twenty-three-year-old Chris Milligan, a chef de partie at Chris Lucas-run French restaurant Maison Bâtard in Bourke St, has been named the regional winner of the Nestlé Golden Chef’s Hat Award and will face off against 10 other regional winners from around Australia and New Zealand at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre during the Fine Food Australia show at the end of August.

According to organisers, the award, established in 1965, is the longest-running culinary competition for young chefs, and aims to support “future food service leaders” and shape careers “through hands-on experience, mentorship and industry recognition”.

The prize includes a seven-day international culinary experience in Singapore valued at $10,000.

“For young chefs in Australia, it's like the pinnacle competition you can do because the final is in a convention centre in front of a live audience,” Chris told CBD News.

At the William Angliss-hosted regional cook-off on July 7, Chris’ menu featured spice-crusted lamb rump with confit leek, lemon gel, feta-filled silverbeet, couscous salad and demi lamb sauce, with a dessert of ginger-infused white chocolate bavarois with poached rhubarb, pistachio biscuit, rhubarb compote and rhubarb consommé.

“I just did food that I wanted to do, flavours that I thought would be really strong and just things that go really well together,” he said.

Judge Elke Travers said his “refined approach to flavour, exceptional attention to detail and ability to create beautifully balanced dishes that showcased both creativity and precision” had impressed the judges.

“It was clear that his preparation, discipline and dedication to refining his craft were reflected across every element of his menu,” she said.

With a family background in the industry, Chris grew up “surrounded by kitchens and chefs and food just 24/7.”

After attending William Angliss in 2020 he started working at elite high-rise dining venue Vue-de-Monde.

The experience was “really hard” and also formative, he says.

“The restaurant was built on French cooking but it had so much creativity and different ingredients every single day.”

Now at Maison Bâtard for just over a year, the young chef credits the two French restaurants with developing his top-level organisational skills.

“When you work in regimented, organised French kitchens, there's no other way about it – you can't be anything other than completely organised,” he says.

Meanwhile, participating in competitions has become “a way to illustrate who I am as a chef because … I get to do what I want to do the way I want to do it, and I've always found a lot of joy and privilege in that.”

For the Golden Chef finale – run over two heats that are open to the public on Monday, August 31 and Tuesday, September 1 – he will need to prepare four serves of a three-course meal incorporating specified ingredients within three and a half hours.

In addition to cooking food at an extremely high level, the contestants will have to be able to deal with pressure, Chris says.

“The food is obviously the most important thing, but they want to see who you are.”

“Can you deal with the pressure of cooking in that space with judges and cameras and people watching you?”

For Chris, the prospect is “like adrenaline” and provokes “more excitement than nerves”.

But having competed in the competition for the fourth time, he also has a strong sense of achievement from his Victorian win.

“It was such a struggle to get to this point because in Melbourne the level of food and talent is just ridiculous,” he says.

“Obviously, you still want to push and win it but I think there's a lot of contentment in understanding that you actually made it to that level.”