Meet Sarah: Vue Group apprentice, kitchen extraordinaire and one of this year's finalists for the prestigious Josephine Pignolet Young Chef of the Year.

On Wednesday, September 18th, Sarah takes over the Iki-jime kitchen for her very own Dessert Degustation - an exploration of Native Australian and local produce, putting a twist on classic desserts. You can find out more about it here.

---

Sarah decided to say goodbye to a six-year corporate career to enrol in the Ballymaloe Cookery School in Ireland. In swapping the traditional 9-5 for the unpredictability of the kitchen, Sarah quickly realised her passion and knew that returning to the office was not an option.

Hopping from Ireland to Copenhagen, Sarah’s next culinary test was as a stage at the internationally renowned Noma with Rene Redzepi. In addition to developing an acute appreciation for delicate and unique produce, Sarah also learnt how the World’s Best Restaurant runs an efficient back of house. After spending 12 months testing her commitment to this new career path, Sarah commenced her apprenticeship at Scott Pickett’s award-winning Saint Crispin. She also participated in Pierre Roelofs’ Pastry Mentorship Dessert Program and had the privilege of assisting his sold-out Dessert Degustation pop-up events.

Sarah became a Vue Group Apprentice Chef in 2018, a program first conceived by Shannon Bennett to instil inductees with a breadth of experience from pastry to fine dining. While working at Iki-jime, Seafood by Vue, Sarah was named a finalist for the prestigious Josephine Pignolet Young Chef of the Year for 2020, of which the honour roll includes some of Australia’s best chefs. While at Vue Group, Sarah was also the winner of the 2018 Shared Tables Thierry Marx Career Development Award, the prize being a two-week internship and three-day workshop at Sur Mesure by Thierry Marx and Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. Sarah was also named one of the Nestlé Professional’s 30 Under 30 in 2019 and a Top 20 Finalist for the 50 Best BBVA San Pellegrino Scholarship 2019.

---

- Quickfire with Sarah -

I'm listening to… a mix of Daft Punk, Digitalism, Hermitude and Nine Inch Nails

I'm reading… Douglas Master's "Silo: The Zero Waste Blueprint", Patrice Newell's "Who's Minding the Farm", and Julian Cribb's "Food or War"

I'm watching… Patriot Act and MindHunter

When I'm at home I'm cooking… Lasagna with fresh homemade pasta and some fried chicken with waffles.