BEST NEW TALENT

As with many past nominees for GT's Best New Talent award, there's a years-long backstory preceding Audrey Shaw's seemingly sudden, immediately lauded, appearance on Melbourne's dining scene.

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VIC

AUDREY SHAW, CARNATION CANTEEN

Shaw is a trained architect (there are restaurants on her CV), drawn to food via circumstance and stints at London's The River Cafe and Red Hill's Tedesca Osteria that spoke to her sense of design and flavour. Her cooking at Carnation Canteen is deliberately (and somewhat deceptively) simple, letting seasonal ingredients and an eye for detail do the heavy lifting. It's an approach applied across the restaurant, from décor to service and wine list, that’s refreshingly holistic.

In short: A stunning second act.

NSW

OZGE KALVO, OLYMPUS DINING