Canadian chefs aged 28 or younger will soon have an unprecedented chance to change their lives forever. Now in its seventh year, the Hawksworth Young Chef Scholarship is officially open for applications. The Canadian non-profit culinary foundation is continuing its search for Canada’s next batch of rising culinary stars with the help of some of the country's most renowned chefs and critics.

Once applications are in, ten chefs will be selected to compete in four regional heats across the country in Calgary, Vancouver, Montreal, and Toronto throughout the month of May. Contestants will have to harness both their creativity and their technical ability to create a main course using only what the judges permit. The top two from each heat will advance to the final event, where the budding chefs will compete in a Top-Chef-style culinary cookoff, judged by the scholarship’s founder and owner, chef David Hawksworth and other notable chefs from across Canada.

"Each year, I am blown away by the calibre of our competitors and, moving into our seventh year, I am confident that 2019 will prove no different," says scholarship founder chef David Hawksworth. "Thanks to the generous support of our judges, our sponsors and the culinary community, we have been able to help countless young chefs start promising careers of their own. I look forward to meeting this year's group of aspiring young chefs."

The winner will be awarded the coveted $10,000 grand prize and perhaps an even more lauded apprenticeship at a selected top international restaurant. The deadline for applications is Monday, March 11, 2019.