Chef Carmin Viola has been named Bermuda's Rising Chef of the Year 2012, proving that women can sizzle and steak like the best of them.The Newport chef beat fierce competition from three other Fairmont hotel chefs Takemore Mukazika, Trevor Kliaman and Adam de la Cruz with her trio of flank steaks.She walked away from the Bermuda Hospitality Institute competition with an all expenses paid trip to New York’s renowned DeBragga and Spitler company. She also won gift certificates from International Imports and Lindos and a crystal decanter and fine wine from Gosling’s.Ms Viola said she was "speechless" to have even been chosen for the semi finals and said she entered the BHI fundraiser to prove to people that cooking is an art. "It has no rules, methods or techniques, " she said. "It gives me freedom to explore new flavours and inspires me to think outside the box."A total of 12 local chefs made it to the semi-finals from November 1 to 6, including Bermudian chefs Kelly Simons, an intern at Cambridge Beaches and Daamian Simmons, a chef at The Reefs.But at Friday's finale, it was Ms Viola's technically challenging dish that secured her the title and wowed judges — radio personality Keevil (The Captain) Burgess, Bermuda Hotel Association CEO John Harvey and chef Leo Betschart.She grilled and smoked one piece of flank steak and paired it with earthy shiitake mushrooms and caramelised cranberries, then pan seared another piece of meat with squash purée. For the third component of the meal she created a beef roll with a shiitake mushroom and tomato ragout, sweet dumpling squash fondant and shiitake mushroom layers, called Mille-feuille.Originally from the Philippines, Ms Viola began her career with the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.She said being a chef was a difficult job, but also came with its rewards. "It requires creativity and a genuine passion for food. It involves a lot of physical, mental and emotional challenges."But the most rewarding aspect of being a chef is to be able to experiment with the creativity of each dish and be able to satisfy our curiosity in finding a way to invent our own culinary cuisine. It is a career that is challenging and exciting at the same time."Second place winner was Bacci chef Adam de la Cruz, who created a dumpling squash ravioli with two versions of flank steak and cranberry Guerrero blanc.Fairmont Hamilton chef Takemore Mukazika, originally from Zimbabwe, took home the prize of audience favourite thanks to his well seasoned flame grilled flank steak with cranberry butter and ginger balsamic braised beef shiitake roll. He paired the dish with thinly grated squash, which was lightly fried and crispy.Trevor Kliaman, from th Fairmont Southampton's Ocean Club, was named 'most creative' for his Asian barbecue beef with Orient cranberry glaze, golden egg sauce (like an uncooked Hollandaise) and lemon grass sticky rice. He also created a flank steak dish, that was sealed in an air tight plastic bag for hours beforehand for tenderness and paired with a shiitake ragout, dumpling squash and jus.Managing director of Fairmont Southampton George Terpilowski was overjoyed with his team’s performance in the BHI event, including the winner Ms Viola.He said: "Honestly I can't even express the pride I have in these young culinarians. We see them everyday around the resort and our different restaurants but it is really nice for them to be appreciated for the excellent work they do every day."They come in and work from morning to night and put out an excellent product and this is a wonderful way to acknowledge their hard work and passion. They have a great future ahead of them."Funds raised at the sold out event will go to BHI's programmes, explained CEO Karla Lacey. Sponsors for the event included: Buterfield and Vallis, Gosling's, Lindos and International Imports, which hosted the five night event.