The owner of Wodonga fine dining restaurant Miss Amelie got his start on the Border before he headed to England where he worked in restaurants owned by celebrity chefs Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay.

He said his interest in the fine dining scene began at Oliver’s restaurant Fifteen in late 2005.

“I probably started cooking properly then,” he said.

“My first day at Jamie’s, they handed me an artichoke and I didn’t know what it was!”

The former Wodonga High School student spent four years in the kitchen at Fifteen before he began working for Ramsay.

“Then I was working 14-hour days for nine months with no breaks and no staff meals,” Kapay said.

“Some staff would start (their new job) in the morning and be gone by lunchtime, the conditions were so bad.”

Kapay said the upside of having worked in that hostile environment was knowing what he wanted to avoid when he started his own restaurant in Wodonga.

European-style restaurant Miss Amelie opened in Junction Place exactly 12 months ago on Friday.

“You learn from all of the good and all of the bad and you create the perfect place,” Kapay said.

“All of my staff meet for coffee every morning before the shift, they eat what they want and they drink what they want.

“You want people to be happy and enjoying each other’s company; you cook better food.”

French-born celebrity chef and My Kitchen Rules ​host Manu Feildel showed his approval of the Miss Amelie philosophy when he dined there six nights in a row during filming of The BBQ on the Border in February.

“He booked late on the Tuesday night and loved it; he came back Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday and sat at the same table.

“He wanted to come back Sunday but we don’t normally open; I had to shout my staff a few beers to come in on a Sunday!”

Kapay said the team put together a degustation menu for Manu and actor Shane Jacobson on the Sunday as Manu had tasted almost everything on the menu during the week.

“He was appreciative of Miss Amelie and my story and often likes our Instagram page,” he said.

Miss Amelie offers its degustation menus on the second Thursday of the month.

On Friday night Miss Amelie will celebrate its first birthday with a sold-out cocktail party for 150.