Jenny hopes to give others a taste for cooking
3 May 2002
Jenny Caunt.
Food is such an important part of our lives that we rarely give it much thought. And with the pace of our lives, for many people it is too much trouble to prepare a nutritious, tasty meal.
But newly-qualified chef Jenny Caunt of Kilmore would like to change all that, and hopes to pass on her enthusiasm for cooking to others.
JennyÂ's passion for cooking has been evident even since the first year of her apprenticeship training at Kangan Batman TAFE's Broadmeadows campus, when she was named Best Level 1 Student in the Certificate III in Cookery. And now that she has completed her training, Jenny has been presented with the instituteÂ's overall Apprentice of the Year Award for her professionalism and dedication to her trade.
“IÂ've always loved cooking. I cook all the time at home", Jenny says. "I just love everything about being a chef. I love the pressure, the rush, and making people happy with your cooking”.
Jenny learnt her trade working four days-a-week in a conference centre restaurant, and attending classes at Kangan Batman TAFE one day-a-week, refining her skills in the institute's student training restaurant, Richards Restaurant.
She is currently working in a restaurant in Port Melbourne but will shortly be heading overseas for a month's holiday experiencing the culinary scene in London and Dublin.
"At some stage I'd like to work overseas, possibly in Europe or Asia. I especially love Asian cooking - it's all about using whatever you have on hand to create fresh, simple, but amazing tasting food. That's what cooking should be about", she says.
Jenny's career goal is to become a head or executive chef, but whatever she does, she also wants to pass on her love of cooking to others.
"I'd like to be in a position to teach young people starting out in the industry, to give them the same enthusiasm and desire to work hard that I have. That may mean working in a top restaurant and mentoring the young apprentices, or perhaps being a TAFE teacher."
Described as an outstanding and hard-working student by her own TAFE teachers, Jenny says the food science and communication subjects were her favourite parts of her studies.
"I've found my food science training to be extremely useful - it's good to understand why things happen, like when a cake won't rise".
"The course also really helped me develop my communication skills, which is really important for a chef because you need to be able to teach others", she says.
"Communication is the backbone of a successful kitchen. You can liken a kitchen to a car - all the parts have their own job to do, but if they aren't working together the car won't go anywhere."
Kangan Batman TAFE has 24,000 students across its six campuses in Broadmeadows, Moreland, Richmond, Coburg, Avondale Heights and Essendon.
Each year in May, Kangan Batman TAFE conducts two graduation ceremonies at the Moonee Valley Racecourse to accommodate all of its graduates and award-winning students.
The first ceremony, at which Jenny received her awards, was held on Friday 3 May. The Hume City Council was major sponsor of the ceremony, while Broadmeadows Town Centre was supporting sponsor.
Jenny won the following awards:
- Apprentice of the Year Award
- Outstanding Achievement Award - Certificate III in Cookery Level 3
