Apprentice chef Liam Sibillin is always hungry to learn, and now he's come back to Griffith even hungrier after having won the silver medal at the regional World Skills cooking competition.
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"Getting silver makes me happy, but not satisfied," Mr Sibillin.
"There's still a lot to learn, still a lot to train, so this is a good motivation for what I'm doing."
The competition was a five-hour culinary battle against the region's finest up-and-coming chefs, who were all asked to cook three dishes for a panel of judges in a Masterchef-style tournament.
Mr Sibillin brought his A-game to the table, with a vegetarian risotto with pureed vegetable sauce for an entree, a prosciutto-wrapped chicken with roasted tomatoes and corn-stock infused polenta for the main, and an Italian meringue with strawberry flavoured Bavarian cream for desert.
His dishes put him a cut above most of the other contestants, but in the end he fell tantalisingly short of winning the gold medal.
However Mr Sibillin said the near miss had made him more determined than ever to continue improving his cooking skills and working towards his dream of becoming a great Italian chef in the future.
He's currently an apprentice chef at Limone Dining, where he's spent the last year honing his skills under the tutelage of renowned chef Luke Piccolo.
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During his time as an apprentice chef he's had a voracious appetite for learning, and even when he goes home he continues expanding his culinary knowledge by reading books and watching videos.
Mr Sibillin says he's come a long way since he moved from Italy to Australia two years ago with empty pockets and not much cooking experience to speak of.
"If you continue to learn everyday and work with a good mindset you realise it's not a problem if you miss something, because the day after you will learn, improve, and do better next time," Mr Sibillin said.
"That is something that makes me feel good, and it makes me want to continue to train and to study. When I start something I want to do it the best I can."
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