Wollongong apprentice chef Luka O'Shea cooks up gold on the competition circuit

Wollongong apprentice chef Luka O’Shea is getting used to the taste of gold, after winning multiple cooking competitions showcasing his skills.

Luka was part of the winning TAFE NSW Wollongong team in the 11th Club Chef Cookery Challenge in Sydney this month (September), where a mystery box challenge that included his chocolate dome with orange curd and chocolate mousse helped them clinch the gold medal against 10 other TAFE NSW teams.

However, it’s not the first competition the Centro CBD and Certificate III in Commercial Cookery apprentice has been part of.

Luka has been collecting other awards on the cooking competition circuit, winning a gold medal at the 2024 regional WorldSkills competition earlier in the year that now means he will compete at the WorldSkills Australia National Championships and Skills Show in Brisbane in 2025.

To add to that, Luka was also awarded a silver medal earlier this year at the 2024 Nestle Golden Chef’s Hat Award competition, where his goal was to showcase coffee in his dish.

“It’s nice to be recognised for something I’m passionate about,” he said.

“I entered the cooking industry hoping to achieve certain goals, although I never thought I’d be getting awards this early in my career.”

Always interested in watching his mum cook at home as a kid, he initially was pursuing a different career path at university.

“My mum tells the story that I was stuffing and crumbing 500 olives and I called her up and said, ‘I’ve just done all these olives. I think this is what I want to do,'” he said.

He’s not the first in his family to have a career as a chef though.

“It actually runs in the family, as my great, great grandfather worked at a restaurant in Sydney called Lindy’s and they wrote about him in a [newspaper] column saying he had the best minestrone soup and chocolate meringue chiffon pie,” he said.

“So it goes back over 100 years.”

He said he was grateful to TAFE NSW for providing him with opportunities to showcase his skills.

“My TAFE NSW teacher encourages me to go the extra distance, which helps me to challenge myself,” he said.

“I also learn by doing. The practical experience I receive at TAFE NSW is excellent as it gives me the hands-on experience I need to succeed as a professional chef.”

For the 11th Club Chef Cookery Challenge, he was joined by Bailey Salmon from K.malu Kitchen and Bar, Meaghan Porter from North Break Cafe, and Sasha Misimovic from 2 Smoking Barrels to compete against 10 teams from TAFE NSW campuses.

Luka said teams competed in a high-pressure mystery box cook-off, with each team of four students tasked with creating and serving a three-course menu in 2.5 hours, to be judged by a panel of industry experts.

He said his team cooked herb whiting with broccolini for entree, a rack of lamb ribs with beetroot puree and smoked Brussels sprouts for mains and, as part of Luka’s role in the team, a chocolate dome with orange curd and chocolate mousse inside for dessert.

“It was a really nice day and everyone worked really well together as a team,” he said.

“I’ve got a passion for making things look pretty, so these competitions have really allowed me to push my creativity in situations where you’ve got to learn and adapt.

“I really enjoy the fine dining side of things, so I would eventually like to join a restaurant where that’s really emphasised.”

The TAFE NSW Wollongong team were awarded a gold medal, while TAFE NSW Nowra and TAFE NSW Bega teams earned silver medals for their appetising creations.

TAFE NSW Wollongong commercial cookery teacher James Talarico said the challenge demonstrated the outstanding calibre of TAFE NSW’s emerging chefs, with participants proving that the southern region was home to some of the state’s most promising talent.

“Congratulations to all involved for their remarkable achievements and for showcasing the incredible potential of NSW’s hospitality sector,” James said.

Club Chef general manager Anthony Gatley said the challenge provided TAFE NSW students with an opportunity to engage in a friendly, yet competitive environment that honed cooking skills and supported career goals.

“TAFE NSW students are extremely talented, and I look forward to watching their careers evolve,” Anthony said.