WHEN chef Sean Connolly asked Wayne Hulme from Christie's Seafood if he could source something unique for a seafood platter, it began a chain of events that brought the first fresh Australian wakame seaweed into Sydney.

It's now appearing on restaurant plates, including at Rockpool and Sean's Panaroma, and is on sale for the home cook.

Restaurant industry celebrates brightest young stars

The finest young chefs and waiters in the Australian restaurant industry were rewarded last night at the Electrolux Appetite for Excellence national awards ceremony in Sydney.
Matthew Dempsey, from the renowned Pettavel Winery & Restaurant in Waurn Ponds (Victoria), received the coveted Electrolux Young Chef Award, with Alice Heath, from highly rated Montalto Vineyard & Olive Grove on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, named the Electrolux Young Waiter.