This might be chef Tamara Philipp’s first year working at The Waterlot Inn, but that’s not stopping her from heating things up in the kitchen.

During the past nine months she has introduced some noteworthy changes to the menu — with dishes like a Wagyu BLT, truffled tagliolini and mushroom thermidor — and was recognised as one of Fairmont’s top team leaders of the second quarter, for all her hard work.

“I am glad to have that opportunity to receive such an award. I’m a young chef who just got promoted as well so to get this pretty soon after I started at The Waterlot was very nice and empowering.

“It lets me know that what I’m doing is right and good, but I couldn’t have done that without my team in the kitchen.”

The German native got her start working in a butcher shop, when she discovered she really liked the hands on side of business.

“My family always cooked at home and never ate processed foods. Dinner was a time when the family sat down and we all had to help put the meal together,” she said.

“I also liked to travel and I thought how can I combine these two things? I decided to become a chef and knew I loved cooking and making recipes my own.”

At 18, she started working as an apprentice for three years at the Kempinski Hotel Atlantic in Hamburg.

After cooking at Fairmont hotels in Miami, London and Canada, she decided to venture to Bermuda to work at the Island’s five diamond restaurant The Newport Room at the Fairmont Southampton.

Her specialities include fine dining, seafood, and European cuisine. But when she’s not in the kitchen, Ms Philipp enjoys deep sea diving and is a member of the Lion Fish Task Force in Bermuda.

That love for marine life, and for animals in general, also translates to how she makes her dishes. She not only tries to use quality meats that have been naturally raised, she also looks to use the whole animal so that nothing goes to waste.

Instead of just using one part of the lobster, like the tail or claws, Ms Philipp said she tries to utilise everything in dishes like the lobster bisque and mushroom thermidor.

Maitre d’ Thomas Houston said part of the chef’s success boils down to her ability to build a great team around her.

“Her colleagues right down to the stewards and cleaners just have a tremendous amount of respect for her so and it’s very much reflected in the product when you have a team and everyone is working together and on the same page,” he said. “Our guests can see and feel that within the experience and Tamara has done a great job with that from a leadership standpoint.”

Ms Philipp’s greatest contribution at The Waterlot has been to take classic steakhouse fare and give it a progressive and creative twist.

The Wagyu BLT is a modern take on a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich. The appetiser features high quality wagyu beef patty, similar to a slider, topped with confit cherry tomatoes and bacon dusted frites.

Meanwhile she considers the truffled tagliolini — featuring a fresh house made pasta, fresh black truffle shavings and Parmigiano reggiano — one of her all time favourite dishes.

The restaurant has also added seafood tasting trios to its menu, which Mr Houston said was “very progressive for what’s happening in the steak houses in North America”.