But he talks about food how some 18-year-olds talk about girls. His creations sound so alluring, so hedonistic that, well, it’s got to be violating someone’s moral code.

Take his winning assortment at the WorldSkills NSW Commercial Cookery titles.

“I made a lightly whipped white chocolate and raspberry mousse,” Jacob says.

“But first I baked a leak, spinach and sun-dried tomato frittata, and steaming whiting fillets drenched in hollandaise sauce, with a side of layered ratatouille.”

It was six hours at the stove. At the national titles next Friday, where he’ll carry NSW hopes, it will be three sweaty days.

“The States were really stressful. It was very high quality because there was someone from each region of NSW,” he says.

“Everyone was a lot more professional at that stage. Although the girl across from me forgot to put gelatine in her mousse.”

State judges are industry hardheads who spot everything from an imperfect cut to a dirty nail. Jacob won with a score of “92-point-something-something”, smiled politely at a presentation, got home and collapsed.

“There was no way I was cooking dinner that night,” he laughs.

“I needed a break. I went to bed and just slept.”

Right now, it’s more time in the Great Lakes College kitchen to hone precision cuts and presentation.

A fridge door opens, and the humming backlight reveals two plates.

There’s a “goat’s cheese, caramelised onion and Roma tomato tartlet” and “ricotta pancake stack with caramel banana and mixed berry coulis”.

Where does he learn to make this stuff?

“My teachers Anne Belcher, Tanya Morton and Maree Weldon get me the best ingredients, and really help me out,” Jacob says.

“They do all my washing up, too.”

The entry form for the WorldSkills national titles warns competitors to be fit “both mentally and physically”.

Eighteen hours of gastronomic sculpture at Sydney Convention Centre’s makeshift culinary coliseum will bring each cook to, and past, boiling point. Then again, the kitchen holds no demons for Jacob.

It’s a gateway to warm memories and tantalising possibilities.

“There’s nothing like a good baked dinner when my family’s over, with plenty of lamb or pork. Or just for a snack, I’m a big fan of avocado on toast,” he says.

“And for desserts I love making mixed berry cheesecake.”

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