Brad Rumbelow and Sam Basham have done the south coast and Nino’s proud in their respective culinary cook-offs.

Having come up trumps in the heats, Brad recently competed in the state finals of the Dairy Farmers Best of the Best Pizza Challenge in Melbourne.

The 25-year-old was one of five SA pizza chefs chosen as finalists from a field of 70, which included his boss and Nino’s owner Simon Pitman.

In the company of celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, Brad created three different varieties of pizza and produced four of each in 20 minutes.

While he didn’t come away with the win, the manager and 10-year veteran of Nino’s received excellent feedback from the judges.

“The secret to a good pizza is a good base and sauce, topped with fresh ingredients and products,” Brad said.

Meanwhile, fellow pizza chef Sam Basham is one of four apprentices across regional SA to be selected for the Chefs in the City program.

Nominated by Nino’s owners Simon and Kirsten Pitman, the 18-year-old will head to Adelaide next week for a placement in the Hyatt Regency Hotel kitchen.

Working with the Hyatt staff, Sam’s special training will culminate in a three-course dinner to showcase his culinary skills.

With aspirations to work overseas one day, the Victor Harbor teenager is looking forward to the experience and fine-tuning his skills with expert chefs.

“I’ve liked to cook ever since I started when I was 14,” Sam said.

“I love to eat, so I thought I may as well learn to cook and I discovered that I had a bit of talent.”

While chefs can travel the world with their skills, Simon said the Fleurieu Peninsula was an ideal place for his young staff to start out.