Pic: Damian Mejan-Fripp and Dylan Cavanagh.
TWO Kingscliff TAFE students have reached the state final of the prestigious Golden Chef’s Hat Award, held in Brisbane earlier this month.
THE Nestlé Golden Chef’s Hat Award is a national competition dedicated to the development of apprentice and junior chefs. It tests culinary cooking skills at a regional level, and culminates with a national finals cook – off in Melbourne.
Students Damian Mejan-Fripp and Dylan Cavanagh, studying Certificate III in Commercial Cookery at Kingscliff, finished fourth in the Queensland State Final.
Kingscliff TAFE Commercial Cookery head teacher Garry Smith said competition brought young chefs from the best restaurants and hotels state- wide to compete.
“I am so proud of Damian and Dylan’s achievement, placed fourth from eight teams in this reputable competition,” he said.
“Being one of the longest running culinary competitions in Australia, it offers young chefs the opportunity to be mentored by culinary instructors and given access to a national network of professional chefs.
“This competition helps young chefs broaden their culinary horizons and presents an opportunity to gauge their talents when benchmarked against their peers.”
This year’s National Winners will not only be recognised as the best junior or apprentice chefs in the industry, they will also receive a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the world renowned three-starred Michelin restaurants in London, The Waterside Inn. Damian and Dylan are in the final year of a three- year apprenticeship with Bangalow Dining Rooms and Bellini’s Restaurant in Salt Village, Kingscliff respectfully.
“Once I finish my apprenticeship, I plan to go travelling to Canada and work in a restaurant in one of the ski fields.” Dylan said.
Damien is unsure of where he will go from here, but he is exploring his options within the industry and is excited at the prospects.
Garry urged anyone who was passionate about cooking and would like to pursue a career in this industry, to contact Kingscliff TAFE on 02 6674 7245 or email garry.smith2@tafensw.edu.au.
