The final cook-off for the “HGT Taste of the Future” Schools Cooking Competition – open to Year 11 & 12 students in WA Schools – was held on 27th July 2016 at Belmont City College. The competition assisted in raising awareness and promoting chef apprenticeships to secondary school students, responding to labour and skills shortages in the hospitality and tourism industry.
The competition gave students the opportunity to showcase their culinary skills and passion for cooking. Judges for the competition: Don Hancey – WA Food Ambassador, Stephen Clarke – Clarke’s of North Beach, and Paul Beard – Perth Arena were impressed by the methodology and quality of food the students produced. Don Hancey said “The standard of the dishes the students created was sensational and all of the judges were impressed by the skill level of each competitor”.
Jezzilaine Hatch, a year 12 student from Swan Christian College, was crowned the winner. Her creation of roasted chicken with herb stuffing, sweet corn puree, lemon gnudi, and garlic mushrooms, picked shallots and watercress scored the highest along with her preparation and skill within the kitchen. Jezzilaine will be graduating school later this year, and with the assistance of HGT she will progress into an apprenticeship to begin her culinary journey. All 10 finalists will receive vouchers from Cut It Out.
The prize for the winner is an apprentice scholarship valued at $6000 worth of Training College fees and a cash prize. Additional cash prizes were also awarded other place getters.
Results for the HGT Taste of the Future School Cooking Competition are as follows:
- Winner – Jezzilaine Hatch – Swan Christian College
- 2nd Place – James Corby – Swan Valley Anglican Community College
- 3rd Place – Rachel Russell – Ellenbrook Christian College
- 4th Place –Tyson Perkins – Narrogin Senior High School
- 5th Place – Ella Dorset – Mundaring Christian College
The schools attended by the top five finalists also received a $1000 voucher from Cut It Out for kitchen / cooking equipment for their school.
Iain McDougall, General Manager, Hospitality Group Training said: “HGT received a large number of applications from students throughout Perth and Regional areas and those selected as finalists should be proud of their efforts. The applications received were of an outstanding standard”.
“HGT recognises that today’s apprentices and trainees are the hospitality industry’s most valuable resource. HGT continues to provide high quality workplace training, apprenticeships and traineeships to the industry, and demonstrates a firm commitment to the future of the industry by ensuring our state has a fertile breeding ground for a future skills base. 2016 has been yet another challenging year for the hospitality industry and it is pleasing to see the continued success of HGT and its apprentices and trainees.”
Hospitality Group Training employs over 100 apprentices and trainees currently working in hospitality venues throughout Perth and regional Western Australia.
Hospitality Group Training is a great alternative for small and medium sized hospitality businesses which are unable to offer an apprentice a permanent position because they cannot guarantee ongoing work or may not have the capacity to undertake all employment and training functions.
To find out more about Hospitality Group Training, please visit www.hgtwa.com.au
