Silver Medal for Hospitality Students
4 July 2008
Silver Medal for Hospitality Students
Kangan Batman TAFE hospitality students Dean Cachia, Aaron Carroll, Samantha Snelling and Natasha Barnes have taken out silver honours at this year's Vic TAFE Cookery Competition, held at Holmesglen Institute of TAFE.
Even world-renowned gastronomic guru Gordon Ramsay would have been impressed with the team's all-in group effort to create something special from a "mystery box" of ingredients.
The Vic TAFE Cookery Competition is held each year to provide Victorian TAFE institutes with the opportunity to pit their culinary skills against each other in a team environment.
Kangan Batman TAFE hospitality teacher Dennis Tran said the teams had three hours to construct a three-course meal from the mystery ingredients.
"The Kangan Batman TAFE team did exceptionally well with their menu, and all four of our apprentices were thrilled with their silver award," he said.
"The judges were very impressed with the creations produced by the team in the allotted time frame. We've been working hard over the past few weeks with 'practice' runs at the Broadmeadows campus, where all four apprentices developed invaluable teamwork skills. It's been a huge learning curve for all, but the silver award result is well worth all the effort they've put in.
"They've gained so much from the experience and we're all really proud of their efforts."
Third year apprentices Dean and Aaron, along with second year apprentices Samantha and Natasha created a varied three-course meal with their ingredients.
The entrée dish of seared scallops served on polenta with pickled vegetables and soy reduction was well received by the judges, as was the main - a corn fed chicken Galantine stuffed with oyster mushrooms, chicken liver and spinach wrapped in crepenet, confit potato leek and beetroot puree.
The team's dessert effort was fit for a king, with dark and white chocolate mousse, passionfruit crème, rhubarb compote and toffy apple spears.
Teams taking part in the challenge were judged on a range of criteria including practical and theoretical skill, food presentation and taste.
"Kangan Batman TAFE's hospitality courses have always been highly regarded by those in the industry," Dennis said.
"The silver award is great recognition for our apprentices, who also performed extremely well in our recent Institute cookery competitions."
Kangan Batman TAFE cookery coordinator John Holmes said the team's great result was backed up by valuable support from the department's teaching and support staff.
"I was so impressed with the team's dedication and commitment, spending many late nights in the training kitchen, practicing with great enthusiasm with a just dash of stress," he said.
"Our special thanks to all the hospitality teachers who supported the apprentices, in particular Dennis Tran and Darryl Selzer, who provided guidance and support for our team."
