The Warrnambool born and bred chef, who was recently named the Best Young Chef of the Year in the national Lexus Appetite for Excellence Awards, has spent the last five years perfecting his trade in London.

However, his regional roots remain his greatest inspiration.

``My love for food really began at the age of four, when I used to hang around the kitchen sink with mum. I used to be the little kid waiting to get hold of that beater and lick all the batter off.''

And this was something which stayed with him throughout his time at school in Warrnambool.

``One of the only things that I was good at was cooking, so while all the guys were off doing woodwork and metal work, I was the bloke that was in the home economics class.

``And from there I fell into an apprenticeship in year 11 and started cooking in a local restaurant.''

Mr Nicolson received the majority of his training at The Lake House in Daylesford, which proved to be the main inspiration for the three-course meal which earned him the title.

The competition pits chefs from all over the country against each other in a three-hour cook-off, judged by a panel of expert chefs including Luke Mangan and Tetsuya Wakuda.

Both Mr Wakuda and Mr Mangan said they were impressed by Mr Nicolson's creativity and his dedication to local ingredients.

His three-course menu featured locally-sourced wild rabbit, Tasmanian truffles, pepper berries and wattle seed, which was used as a substitute for coffee in a creme brulee.

``I took that path because of my training (at The Lake House in Daylesford),'' he said.

``I'm the sort of guy who believes you never forget where you come from.''

``Australia has some of the best produce in the world and I've been around and I've seen that, so that's something I'd really like to showcase.

``I am an Aussie chef and I'm proud to be one.''