DISHING out plates, 13 budding student chefs tied up their aprons on Wednesday, May 29 for a lunch service at a five star hotel in Newcastle.
Hunter River High, St Clemente High School, Callaghan College Jesmond, Irrawang High and Lambton High school students participated in the Yes Chef program, an initiative of the Regional Industry Education Partnerships (RIEP) program.
The year 10 to 12 cooks had a taste at what a career in hospitality could serve by working in a commercial kitchen at the Crystalbrook Kinglsey Hotel, where they made a three-course meal for 60 guests made up of their families and friends.
Hunter River High year 11 student Angus Fellow said food included pan seared scallops in the entree, pan roasted duck for the main and a banana pudding for dessert.
"We had a small but talented team sorting out scallops on a very set time frame and we had to get a big number of scallops out," he said.
He said the service was challenging but a nice change to what he's used to, and a chance to see how a professional kitchen runs.
"Once we had the duck prepared everything else got a lot easier as we went forward," he said.
Angus has a passion for cooking even sharing his snippets in the kitchen through a public Snapchat story with 400 followers and hopes to pursue a school based apprenticeship or VET course while finishing year 12.
"I'd love to do a mix of those things so I'm getting enough time in the kitchen, enough time at school and just putting my best foot forward in the industry," he said.
RIEP officer Gary Sewell said the Yes Chef program was an opportunity for industry pipelines, opening doors for the students with some offered traineeships at the end of the program.
"It aims to encourage students to consider a pathway into the hospitality sector, which is one of the key industries in the region," he said.
A survey from the Hunter Valley Wine and Tourism Association found that 70 per cent of hospitality businesses in the region reported difficulties in recruiting and retaining skilled workers.
But students like Angus and year 11 Callaghan College student Catherine Vandervord are excited to embark on hospitality as a career.
"I love food and how it brings people together. It's amazing to work with people as a team and you can't beat feeding a room full of people with the food you've created and care about," Catherine said.
