Chef Profile: Vanessa Grace

Executive Chef Vanessa Grace, Lime & Pepper restaurant

Award-winning Executive Chef Vanessa Grace is a welcome addition to the team at Peppers Beach Club & Spa in picturesque Palm Cove.

A fan of the climate and fresh produce on offer in the tropics, thanks to former roles including Executive Chef at the former Peppers Palm Bay in the Whitsundays and Heron Island Resort on the Great Barrier Reef, Chef Grace has brought a new edge to the table for food fans on their dream holiday in Tropical North Queensland.

At age 30, Chef Grace has been responsible for everything from fine dining restaurants, buffets and large functions to private beachside degustation dinners, a pizza bar and a staff diner. Chef Grace's extensive career history ranges from Lizard Island Resort to the Park Hyatt in Beijing (where she no doubt was won over by the versatility of her favourite ingredient Chinese Five Spice), which has provided her insight into the wide-ranging palettes of diners from around the globe.

Guests to the luxury Palm Cove resort's signature restaurant Lime & Pepper can delight in one of Chef Grace's specialties such as the delectable tropical dessert of Marreba pineapple soda, coconut ice cream, dragonfruit and Malibu jelly. Starting out as an Apprentice Chef training at the Conrad Culinary Academy at Conrad Jupiters Casino on the Gold Coast, Chef Grace was one of only four apprentices trained by the respected Chef Hans Kujawa, and cooked in all seven restaurants and 13 kitchens within the hotel.