Three TasTAFE-trained apprentices have represented Tasmania in cookery competitions at the 2024 Fine Food Australia expo, held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Running for 40 years, Fine Food Australia is one of the country’s largest annual food events. This year’s showcase featured 875 exhibitors, attracting thousands of food industry professionals from around the country.
Nicholas Rudeforth represented Tasmania in the NAC’s Final Year Apprentice category. Nic is currently enrolled in a Certificate III Commercial Cookery at TasTAFE, whilst working at the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in Hobart.
Jacky Chiang participated in the Culinary Student category: he’s currently progressing through TasTAFE’s full-time international pathway, studying a Certificate IV in Kitchen Management in Hobart.
Both Nic and Jacky had to comply with NAC’s rigorous guidelines which included sourcing ingredients from Melbourne’s iconic Victoria Markets.
Across three hours, Nic and Jacky crafted their dishes at fully-equipped kitchen stations – all in public view, with passing crowds stopping to watch and comment.
Jacky was tasked with preparing a chicken entrée and main course. Nic was asked to prepare an entrée, main and desert.
Assessment criteria included organisation, hygiene, professional preparation, service, presentation, and of course, taste.
“It was quite a lot of pressure to achieve all that,” Nic said, “– all while keeping your bench as clean as possible, everything stored correctly, everything labelled… Even the waste had to be labelled and separated properly.”
At the end of the day, Nic was awarded a gold medal for his efforts and placed second overall; while Jacky took home a silver medal.
Nic was very pleased with the result: “After all the hard work, it was really worth it. I honestly thought I’d not done as well as I did!”
Nic thinks his TasTAFE training set him up well for success.
“Working with Michael Norton [TasTAFE Cookery teacher] in particular, definitely helped,” he said. “He was a really good mentor. Just the little things like seasoning, tasting, serving-up on a hot plate, using the appropriate plate size… Those kinds of things are super important.”
Jacky also credited his training at TasTAFE for his success.
“Before TasTAFE I had no idea how to cook French cuisine, especially” Jacky said. “So when I was preparing for the competition, I had a better understanding of which ingredients to use: the right amount, how it should taste, the right kind of garnish to use… At TasTAFE we have the opportunity to try a lot of different foods.”