Young chef writing recipe for success

STRATHFIELDSAYE apprentice chef Lucy Daley has been handed the opportunity of a lifetime after being named as one of thirty-two finalists in the national Proud to be a Chef 2025 program.

Daley currently works at the popular Woodhouse Bar & Grill in Williamson Street.

As part of becoming a finalist, she’ll attend an all-expenses-paid four-day trip to Melbourne next February alongside mentors Angelica Iuliano from iconic Melbourne Spanish diner MoVida and former Masterchef judge George Calombaris.

After the four days, the finalist judged to have shown the most growth and passion will be awarded a scholarship worth over $7500 to the culinary institute of their choice.

Daley said she’s been interested to become a chef since she was a child, sharing a love of cooking with her dad.

“He would (always) let me experiment so I was never per se banned from the kitchen,” she said.

“He was never one to shy away; if I wanted to learn something he would show me.”

She got her start under head chef and owner Paul Pitcher at the Woodhouse while still at school around two and a half years ago and has never looked back.

“I started there as a work placement and after that they offered me the apprenticeship, so I took it and started working every Saturday,” Daley said.

“When I finished school they offered me a full time apprenticeship and I leapt at it.”

As her experience has grown, Daley said her tasks at work now involve a mix of everything.

“I started off on larder and as I progressed they put me on harder stages, so as of now I can complete most of the things at Woodhouse,” she said.

The best thing about being a chef for Daley is “the thrill of it.”

“Also the experimentation. If you’re cooking at home you can try a little bit of this and a little bit of that. You never stop learning in the kitchen,” she said.