The Shared Tables Thierry Marx Career Development Award 2019
L:R Jessica Hall, Tomoki Ishikawa, Michael Demagistris, Aditya Pai, Samuel Hocking & Josh Pelham
L:R Michael Demagistris, Abhishek Thorat
L:R Vicki Sher, Gerard Doherty, Andre Smaniotto, Michael Demagistris, Brad French, Abhishek Thorat, Scott Collier, Greg O'Shea & Tom Milligan
2019 SHARED TABLES THIERRY MARX CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARD WINNERS
ANNOUNCED. CONGRATULATIONS TO:
Le Cordon Bleu student winner Abhishek Thorat (Matilda) and
Qualified Chef winner Michael Demagistris (Executive chef Polperro Winery)
Two worthy chefs have been announced as the winners in the 2019 Shared Tables Thierry Marx Career Development Award. This unique award provides the opportunity for one apprentice/cookery or patisserie student and one fully qualified chef to work in the great culinary city of Paris, France under the guidance of world renown chef Thierry Marx.
The 2019 Shared Tables Thierry Marx Career Development Award Winners are: Le Cordon Bleu student Abhishek Thorat (Matilda) and the Qualified Chef winner is Michael Demagistris (Executive chef Polperro Winery).
There were 27 finalists announced – 12 qualified chefs and 15 students. Since starting the competition 23 commercial cookery/patisserie students and one chef (2018) have travelled to Paris for this life changing experience. 10 of these winners have been young women and Shared Tables is very proud to continue its support of nurturing young talented women in the hospitality industry.
Le Cordon Bleu student Abhishek Thorat was a runner up last year and he was determined to come back in 2019 fully prepared and eager to win. According to Abhishek “I would love to have the opportunity to work alongside chef Thierry Marx due to his food innovation and kitchen leadership that is highly renown and respected from chefs all around the world”.
As a qualified chef, Michael believes that continued learning is vital and he says “I am thrilled to win this award to further solidify my skills as a chef and make me better equipped for modern cuisine and give me currency to put back into programs that help people throughout foodservice. I believe it’s not what you can achieve alone that makes you truly remarkable but how many people you can lift up with you”.
The judges were impressed, not only with Michael and Abhishek’s cooking and technical abilities, but their knowledge of Thierry Marx was exceptional and the judges deemed they will be wonderful ambassadors for the competition during their time in France.
Michael and Abhishek’s prize will include airfares, accommodation and three weeks in Paris 14 days training under the guidance of Thierry Marx and his team at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Paris, France. Three-day experience at the Le Cordon Bleu Paris Institute.
Thierry Marx is considered one of the pioneers of modern gastronomy. Thierry was awarded his first Michelin star in 1988 at Roc en Val in Tours, and another at Cheval Blanc in Nîmes in 1991. He spent a little over a decade at Château Cordeillan-Bages, a Relais & Châteaux in Gironde, where he held two Michelin stars from 1999 until he moved to the Mandarin Oriental in 2010. He is now the Executive Chef of the world acclaimed Le Jules Verne restaurant situated at the Eiffel Tower
The other winners:
Runner up: Winner Chef Category Josh Pelham(RACV Club Cape Schanck) and Winner Student Category Le Cordon Bleu student Aditya B. Pai (Cutler and Co).
3rd PlaceWinner Chef Category Samuel Hocking (Atlantic Group) and Winner Student Category was Holmesglen students Jessica Hall (Mercer’s Restaurant) & Tomoki Ishikawa (Melbourne Polytechnic)
The Shared Tables Thierry Marx Career Development Award is brought to you by Shared Tables, Holmesglen Institute of TAFE and Le Cordon Bleu and Sher Wagyu
