TOMORROW night, and for one night only, Edwards Waterfront Restaurant & Café will be serving French cuisine, provided by its two apprentice chefs.

Two months ago, apprentices Cody Welfare and Amber Morey were granted the opportunity to design their very own menu and take over the kitchen for a night in honour of this week being Chefs Appreciation Week this week.

After plenty of research and experimenting, the two agreed on a French themed menu and called it ‘dîner sur l'eau’ (dinner on the water), including entrée, main and dessert.

“We thought it would be something different to bring to Portland because you've got your Mexican nights and you've got your American nights, but this is something a bit more fancy and different that people don't usually get,” Ms Welfare said.

“Most of the French desserts take a few years to master, which we found out the hard way.

The two have thoroughly practiced each item on their menu in preparation for tomorrow night.

“Because French, it’s very precise and everything must be exact, especially the desserts because desserts are more of a science.”

Ms Welfare is on her final year of her three-year apprenticeship and has been working at Edwards for three months as part of it.

She had previously worked at Dhauwurd-Wurrung Elderly & Community Health Services putting together aged care meals, then decided it was time for a change and a “different experience”.

Ms Morey had just completed secondary school last year and was looking for a career to pursue, leading her to the role she is in now.

It has been nine months since she joined the team at Edwards, and she was pleased to find out she wouldn’t be just cleaning dishes.

“I've been here nine months, so I've almost finished my first year,” Ms Morey said.

“I didn't think I'd like it to start with.

“Turns out I really like it, so I’m glad I took (the apprenticeship).”

There will be two sittings from at 6pm. Just some of the menu items include bouillabaisse (seafood stew), confit de canard (duck) and galette aux framboise (raspberry).

The two young women will be cooking it up all by themselves, while head chef Katherine Walker acting as their apprentice,

Ms Walker said she was happy to be under the instruction of the apprentices and looking forward to the evening.