The Lake Hotel are celebrating the success of their colleague this week. Tamara Jelača has been awarded Munster’s Young Chef of the Year at the YesChef awards. The prestigious YesChef awards celebrate the commitment and dedication of the hospitality industry in Ireland to providing simply outstanding culinary experiences. The awards ceremony took place in the Fairways Hotel in Dundalk on 14th May, following a rigorous inspection earlier in the year.
A native of Serbia, Tamara learned her craft in her home country and then gained a wealth of experience in Montenegro and Dubrovnik before moving to Ireland and joining the team at The Lake Hotel. Now in her second season at The Lake Hotel, Tamara works in the hotel’s Castlelough Restaurant kitchen as Chef de Partie under the expert guidance of multi-award-winning Executive Chef Noel Enright.
On the night of inspection, Tamara impressed the judges with a Goats Cheese Amuse Bouche, a Shellfish Starter Plate, succulent Duck for Mains, and a delectable Chocolate Souffle for Dessert. Showcasing her diverse skillset across all courses, Tamara also paired wines beautifully with each course and met with the judges to elaborate on her inspiration and technique for each dish.
Chef Noel Enright commented, “We are delighted to see Tamara awarded this highly coveted accolade. She is exceptionally talented and has a very bright future ahead of her, we’re so fortunate to have her on our team, her skills certainly amplify the overall dining experience for our guests.”
Speaking at the awards ceremony Shane Smith, Managing Director of NI Media said; “We take pride in our programme and every year every restaurant is inspected by culinary experts. If you win an award in the YesChef Awards, you know it’s completely on merit!”
The Lake Hotel is a multi-award-winning property and was most recently awarded silver in the Four-Star Resort category at the Virgin Media Gold Medal awards, having previously won Ireland’s Best Four-Star Hotel and Ireland’s Fine Dining Experience at the Irish Hotel Awards.
