Jaelen Steede learnt at an early age that cooking isn’t as easy at it looks on TV. It didn’t stop him from becoming a chef.

In honour of his 21st birthday next Friday, he’s putting on a show-stopping demonstration of his culinary skills. His plan is to use the money for school.

“It was actually my grandfather and father who pushed me to do it,” Mr Steede said. “They asked me what I was doing on my birthday and suggested I do something different.

“Next week I’ll be going 21, so everyone is telling me it’s a milestone. I also felt this would be a good way to start off my year seeing my birthday is in January. I want to be able to show people what I’m all about.”

He failed miserably at his first attempt cooking scallops at 13.

“I used to watch Hell’s Kitchen and see chefs get yelled at for not cooking the scallops properly,” he said. “I figured I could do it better but when I tried it, by the time I saw they were the right colour, they were already overcooked. You couldn’t even chew into them they were so tough. It was the worst kind of eye-opener. I tried to bite off a piece of it and it was like rubber.”

He’s come a long way since. Diners will be served a five-course wine-paired meal next week. Pickled devilled eggs, shrimp and grits and a mojito granita are on the menu. Pan-seared beef tenderloin with sweet potato gratin and garlic roasted asparagus make up the entrée; dessert is a fresh fruit gazpacho with honey and lime, whipped crème fraîche and shortbread.

“For two days straight I was up to 3am working on the menu and it’s been a lot of work ever since just trying to market and promote it,” he said.

“I had to decide what makes sense, considering the time of year and the season. It’s after the New Year, so everyone is trying to lighten up and trying to be a lot fitter so you don’t want to bog them down too much, but you do want there to be some hearty dishes in there as well. We’ve had so many ideas that we’ve had to chop and change.”

His mother, Diane Steede, and grandmother, Doris Haley, were both whizzes in the kitchen.

“My mom never let me have any jarred baby food when I was a baby. She would cook everything fresh instead. She’s an excellent cook,” he said. “My grandma as well would be always baking cakes and made dinner every night for everyone. There are still pictures of me as a kid with cake batter all over my face from being in the kitchen with her.”

He realised he’d inherited the skills while taking a cooking class at Warwick Academy.

“In middle school we learnt about food and what it does for you,” he said. “I had also started watching the Food Network in my spare time, so when I went to class I actually knew what I was talking about.

“Once I started cooking I thought, ‘That’s pretty cool’, and when I realised I could actually make a career out of it I was like, let’s go for it. I was never the best artist or scholar. I was never an ‘A’ student, but this was the one way I could express myself.”

His grandmother is famous for her farine pie — Mr Steede is the only one of her grandchildren who knows her special recipe.

“It’s usually me, my mom and my grandma in the kitchen at Christmas time and for Thanksgiving. Then everyone will get around the table and socialise,” he said. “I try to stick to a basic recipe, but might add something different to it. I like to take recipes that are old and add something new to it.”

“It’s cool when you can step back and look at what you’ve made and [wonder] what you can do next time to make it a bit better. It’s trial and error usually.”

• Tickets for Mr Steede’s birthday bash are available at www.premierticketsglobal.com, for $100.