Acorns 2019: Elly Wentworth, 27

Why hospitality is a great career "If you have the passion to push forward and learn every day, it opens a door to the world."

What best demonstrates Elly Wentworth's dedication to being a chef is the thought she's put into her progression, moving through some of the most professional kitchens in the country.

Having studied professional cookery at City College Plymouth, her first job was at the three-AA-rosette Tanners restaurant in Plymouth under Chris and James Tanner. Here she honed her skills on each section before going on to work in three one-Michelin-star kitchens: the Elephant under Simon Hulstone; the Bybrook at the Manor House under Richard Davies; and Restaurant Hywell Jones at Lucknam Park.

Last September, aged 26, she was headhunted for her first head chef position at the Angel Restaurant in Dartmouth, following in the footsteps of chefs such as Joyce Molyneux and John Burton Race.

Not afraid of hard work, she immediately set about teaching her modern cuisine style to the brigade and then taking them through a busy period with Dartmouth Food Festival. A few weeks later, she joined top Devon chefs to cook lunch for the Chefs' Forum with City College Plymouth students, which has already led to the restaurant partnering with the college.

She has enjoyed several of her own triumphs, too. For instance, at the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts Awards 2016 she was one of only four chefs to be given an Award of Excellence. And, aged 24, she was the youngest runner-up in TV's Masterchef: The Professionals 2016.