Thierry Marx Career Development Award

for Apprentice Chefs

Pettavel third year Apprentice Scott Stevenson was declared one of three winners of the inaugural Thierry Marx Career Development Award for Apprentice Chefs. As a winner, Scott travelled to France for a month, working under the guidance and direction of celebrated French chef, Thierry Marx, in his two Michelin star restaurant, Chateau Cordeillan-Bages in Bordeaux. Scott kept a diary of this one in a life time experience, the highlights of which we share below.

“The overall dining experience at Cordeillan Bages is very French in its extravagance and exuberance. As well of a choice of dish from each of the four sections on the menu there is an amuse bouche (a small appetiser), two pre-entrees, an endless selection of bread from Thierry Marx’s own bakery in Bages (even a range of butters and creams), a mid course, a pre-dessert course, a petit fours plate and two fantastic trolleys, one full of local chesses and the other of traditional cakes and chocolates. If there is trouble digesting all of this food they kindly provide a tea trolley where tea is made at the table using fresh aromatics”.

“My personal favourite dessert on the menu is the de-constructed lemon tart. Firstly there’s the crunchy praline tuille, within this a foam of meringue shot out of a siphon pistol, hidden in the foam a small chocolate treat and three spears of biscuit held upright within the foam. Next to the main centerpiece lies three tuilles baked on a special shaped tray which gives the wave effect, and between the layers a lemon cream is piped.”

“The opportunity to be invited into the ‘inner sanctum’ of a two Michelin starred French restaurant was quite incredible. It does provide a lot of inspiration involving the cuisine on display, especially the scientific side of it that is a respectful nod as well as a competitive retort to what is happening in Spain at the moment. Importantly though, what became apparent was how comparable some Australian restaurants are to this, or rather how close we are in the Australian restaurant industry to start emulating this standard and bringing our own edge to it. Seeing how fascinated the French are with Asian food made me really appreciate the proximity we have with Asia and the possibilities with this influence on Australia’s ever evolving cuisine. The freedom we enjoy because of the youth of this country, and the sharing of ideals and information, means it is a very exciting time to be a chef in Australia.”